


Loser and the Stray

by djupcake



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Elsa is a puppy, Elsa is a stray adorable puppy, F/F, First Dates, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Have I sold you on this story yet, Let me repeat that, Love Confessions, Rescue, Stray Dogs, puppy adoption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 47,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22370344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/djupcake/pseuds/djupcake
Summary: Anna Muenster's had a pretty crappy year. Her parents got divorced, her girlfriend broke up with her, and no one in her field was hiring. Down on her luck and desperate for a win, she makes the possibly dumb decision to investigate a strange noise in an alleyway. And that's when she meets someone that'll change her life forever: a stray husky named Elsa.
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Anna/Honeymaren (Disney)
Comments: 64
Kudos: 229





	1. Chapter 1

**A** fter bombing another job interview, missing her bus, and almost getting spat on by a homeless person, the only thing that Anna Muenster could take solace in was this: "At least it's a nice day for a walk."

Post-college life hadn't been kind to the decreasingly hopeful redhead. In the past year alone, her parents got divorced, her girlfriend broke up with her, and she realized that no one in her field was hiring. So now she was searching for something- _anything-_ to keep herself afloat so she could stop relying on her parents for rent money.

Three months of job searching later and...no dice. All she'd gotten were rejection emails and empty promises that they'd call her back, and it didn't help that she tripped over her words and always said at least one stupid thing per interview.

This time around, during an interview for a low-level data entry position, she made the mistake of saying that she wouldn't be like everyone else who spent half their time at work browsing Reddit and Discord. When the interviewer started talking about looking for a "certain kind of person", she knew it was over.

With a sigh, she tucked her folder under her armpit, moved her sack lunch to the same hand, and pulled out her phone. She promised her older brother she'd call him after the interview.

After the second ring, Kristoff picked up, _"Heeeeeey, how'd it go?"_

"Uuuuuuugh!"

" _That bad, huh?"_

"I told her that numbers were my passion."

He laughed, _"What does that even mean?"_

"I don't knoooow!" Anna whined, "I always get too scared that I'll say something dumb, and then I jinx myself by- of course- saying something dumb! I swear the universe is conspiring against me or something. Or maybe I pissed off an ancient spirit or something."

" _Or maybe these places are too intimidated by how much you bring to the table, and don't think they're worthy enough to hire you,"_ Kristoff reasoned. _"Look, I know you haven't had the best few months, but I'm sure your luck's gonna turn around soon."_

Anna scoffed, "Easy for you to say. You're already married and have a job. I'm living in an apartment our parents paid for and can't even get a text back."

" _It's gonna happen for you too, Anna. I promise."_ Her brother speaks with a confidence that's always reassured her since they were kids. It's one of the reasons she always calls him when things go bad or just needed a pick-me-up.

Her spirits are lifted for the moment, but she needed a win soon. These phone calls wouldn't help her forever, and she didn't want to keep him away from his own life so much. "Thanks, Kristoff," she says with a smile that she hopes he can sense, "I needed that."

" _Anytime."_ In the background, she can hear a baby crying and her older brother sighs, _"Looks like duty calls. I'll talk to you later, okay? I love you."_

"I love you too."

He hangs up, and Anna's all alone on her walk again. Thankfully, the place she was interviewing at wasn't _too_ far from her apartment, maybe a half an hour walk at best. And, as mentioned before, it was a nice day. Out here in West Arendelle, the weather was always a coin-flip between bright, cool, and sunny, or damp and rainy. Today was the former.

With the local restaurants on both sides of the street, minimal traffic, birds chirping, and a park off in the distance, it all made her feel like a Disney princess.

A depressed, Disney princess with an untucked dress shirt and a lukewarm ham sandwich, but a Disney princess nonetheless.

When she got back to her apartment, she'd change back into shorts and a t-shirt, mope for a little bit while watching reruns of Friends, and then get back on the job hunt. It was a routine that she'd gotten all-too-familiar with, and it didn't show any signs of changing just yet.

She needed a win.

Bad.

Or at least a sign that things would finally get better, that things would start going her way. But the more she tried to find it, the more out of reach it felt. Maybe this was just her life now…

But as that sobering thought began to overtake her, she was startled by a rustling in the alleyway to her left. And then a loud bang.

She jumped twenty feet in the air and yelped, "What the...frick was that?!"

A wood pallet looked to have fallen and hit the rusty trash bins. Anna stood frozen in place waiting for more noises, even though she probably should have kept moving. West Arendelle may have been a relatively safe place, but it wasn't immune to thugs and more aggressive homeless people. But something told her to wait, a feeling, or maybe it was the evil spirit she thought was making her life miserable.

She got an answer when one of the trash bags began to rustle, and then two, and then one. As if something was moving in between them. "Is something there?" She asked curiously.

Maybe it was a rat, so hyped up on diseases that you'd die immediately after getting bit. So then why was she stepping into the alleway? Even more rustling piqued her curiosity, as well as the sounds of plastic tearing.

This was a bad idea, it felt like a bad idea. What if it was a crab monster that would attach to her face the second she pulled it out of its trashy hiding place? Or what if it was a snake? Nonetheless, her feet moved her right in front of the trash bags. "Hello?" she said softly.

No answer, but then if they started speaking back to her, she'd probably have a heart attack. The alleyway was silent save for the odd passing car at the end of it, she moved her hand slowly to one of the bags.

"This is stupid," she whispered to herself, "What are you _doing,_ Anna? This is _so_ stupid."

And yet she continued, even as her heartbeat quickened with each passing second. When her fingers grasped a drawstring and tugged back one of the bags, she was afraid her heart would explode from the anxiety.

What awaited her was not a ghost, or a face-eating crab, or a snake. Instead it was a fluffy, dirty ball of white whimpering from the loss of protection. Or, you know, a puppy. A scared, shivering puppy.

"Oh…" she said softly, sympathetically.

Anna knelt down, taking in the sight of the frightened animal. Aside from the dirty, white fur, it also had these sad yet striking blue eyes, small legs curled in, and perky ears with a chunk missing from its left one. She remembers seeing this kind of dog in a movie about sledding once.

It's a husky. Alone, abandoned, and visibly afraid.

Despite its yipping and howling, Anna has this feeling that it won't attack her. "Hey there, little guy." she said while slowly stretching out an open palm to them.

The husky's yipping turns to solely whimpering, until Anna's hand gets close enough to smell. It's whimpering grows softer as well after one sniff, and she's glad that she decided to put on her strawberry-scented lotion today. When the puppy licks her, she's almost taken aback at how coarse its tongue is. But she doesn't pull away, it's not showing any teeth so she feels like she's safe. She feels like it can trust her.

That feeling is amplified when the puppy stands up and takes a few cautious steps toward Anna, again with the soft whimpers. But one more sniff, and it changes its course, darting towards her right. Crap, she's about to get bit and get super-rabies.

She jerks her right hand away just in case, and the puppy whimpers and takes a few steps back. Damn, she's only known this thing for a few minutes and is already feeling guilty for spooking it. "What…" she looks at her right hand and that's when it clicks: the sandwich. "You smelled it, didn't you?"

The puppy's head is tipped down, as if it's sorry for scaring _her_.

Anna puts her folder down and takes the ham sandwich out of the bag. She rips off a piece and stretches her hand out. "Here. Why don't we share?"

No dice, in fact the puppy moves back toward its garbage home. Anna thinks that maybe she's scared it for good, and that she should just leave. Left with the knowledge that she isn't even wanted by a stray puppy.

But it doesn't move away fully, just far enough so that it can nestle back onto one of the trash bags. Anna's still got the food outstretched, but it's not getting closer. She tries a different approach and puts the piece of food on the ground, moving her hand back towards herself and wiping the crumbs off on her pants.

And it works.

After a few seconds, the puppy sniffs around for a little bit and then takes one step. And then two. And then a few more. It's right in front of the food before it looks up at Anna as if to ask for permission. She nods, and it downs the bite immediately. Man, who knows how long it's been since its last meal.

"You like ham, good to know." Anna chuckles and rips off another piece of her sandwich. And then another. And then another until she doesn't have anymore sandwich left to give.

When the puppy notices that she's all out, it turns around to walk back to the trash bags. And Anna stands back up, hoping that this one good deed was what she needed to turn her luck around.

But when she stands, the puppy's ears perk up and scatters towards her.

"Oh! Uh hey...again." She says when it sits right in front of her. "I don't have any more food, buddy."

And then the cutest thing ever happens. The puppy circles around her feet a couple of times, stops at her right side, and rests its head on her shoe.

She gasped, "That's not even fair."

It's clear what this puppy wants, it knows that it can trust Anna and it's a trust that it probably hasn't felt for any human. At least not for a while. Or maybe it's just using her for food. Whatever the reason, Anna knows one thing: she can't just leave it here.

So, once again, she kneels back down and the puppy sits back up to smell and lick her hand. "You wanna come with me?" she asks, thinking that the whimper she gets in response is a yes. "I've only got one bedroom though, so you might have to take the couch."

Oblivious to her pitiful attempts at humor, the puppy keeps licking away at her hands and shoes. When it bends down to lick her shoes again, she notices something in the matted fur around its neck. A faded, blue collar.

With steady hands, Anna moved the fur around the collar as the puppy lapped at her shoes. Just as she expected, there's a small, metallic circle at the center of it near its chest. The paint is chipped and the engraving is scuffed up, but it's still clear enough that she can make out the word on it.

"Elsa…"

At the sound of that word, the puppy looks up at her with curious, attentive eyes.

She smiles, "That must be your name, huh? It's very pretty."

Elsa tilts her head as if she's waiting for a command, and when it doesn't come, she goes back to licking Anna's shoes.

There's no number or address on the tag, just a name. But someone _had_ to have given it to her, there's no way she was just born with the tag on. She had to find their owner, they must be worried sick. Who wouldn't miss such a beautiful, adorable husky?

But first things first, she had to get her out of this alleyway.

Anna stood up again, and Elsa followed her immediately. "Come on Elsa, my place isn't that far. And I think you'll like it."

She doesn't even need to be asked twice, Elsa follows her step by step as they walk out of the alleyway together. As they turn the corner together and continue the twenty-minute walk home, Anna can't help but shake this feeling that her entire life had just changed.

Which is silly, she thinks, because she won't have Elsa for long.


	2. Chapter 2

**I** t's a short and uneventful walk back to Anna's apartment. The whole time, she was concerned that her new friend would leave or stop following her at anytime, but no Elsa follows closely behind the entire way.

And while a part of her was glad she had a temporary companion, another part of her was concerned about what to do now that Elsa had stayed with her. It wasn't as if this was some fairytale ending where things would fade to black and you'd _assume_ things were okay, she had to actually make sure things could be okay.

She made it to her front door. After a deep breath, she turned around to face the puppy, who was staring up at her expectantly. "Well here we are," Anna said. "Make sure to wipe off your paws before you come inside."

Elsa tilted her head in response.

With a turn of her key, Anna stepped inside her apartment, immediately being blasted by the cold, emptiness of it all. Though her parents paid for it, she had to pay for everything else including furniture and food. With a lack of job prospects, it left the place pretty barebones.

Some might call the design minimalistic, Anna called it being poor and lonely.

She set her folder down on her tiny, kitchen table and poured a glass of water for herself from the sink. Realizing her selfishness, she also grabbed one of her cereal bowls and filled it with water, setting it on the floor. "Sorry about that, you're probably pretty thir…"

Anna looked up, and noticed that Elsa hadn't stepped a single paw inside the apartment yet.

"...sty."

The timid husky was looking at the bottom of the door frame as if it was a fifty feet gap. She moved one paw forward, and then took a couple of steps back. And that's when she let out the cutest noise Anna had ever heard: soft yet high-pitched whining, directed right at her.

She wanted to come in, but she was afraid. Of what? Anna didn't know, but she knew that she had to help.

"Heyyy, it's okay," Anna cooed while walking to Elsa with the bowl in hand. "I promise, my place is completely cat free. Unless that bums you out, in which case there's a whole lot of cats here."

More whining as a response, but it felt like Elsa was settling down the closer she got.

She set the bowl down a couple of feet from the weary husky, who dipped her nose towards it. She's hesitant, obviously, but the thirst she must have overrides that and she began lapping up the water quickly.

Elsa continues licking even after the water is all gone. Anna chuckles and takes the bowl, "Alright alright, lemme get you some more."

This time, Elsa follows her inside.

* * *

Anna's next challenge she needed to tackle was Elsa's fur.

As pristine and white as it probably was, it was currently muddled up by dirt and grime from being out on the street for who knows how long. While Elsa was busy exploring her tiny, one-bedroom apartment, she began filling up her bathtub. Hopefully, a quick rinse and lather would get her nice and clean again.

That is, unless, she runs away the second she sees the tub. Or if she scatters out of the tub the second her paw hits the water.

But Elsa had proven to be a well-behaved, if shy, puppy so far, which made Anna faithful that this would turn out just fine.

As if on cue, curiosity brought Elsa to the bathroom just as Anna turned off the faucet. "Come on in, the water's fine," she said as she swirled it around with her hand, "I can't believe I'm wasting all my best jokes on someone who can't even laugh."

Elsa walked towards her but, obviously, had no idea what she wanted her to do. Those piercing, curious blue eyes stared at the tub, back at Anna, and then back at the tub. There's no way this tiny ball of fluff could jump three feet in the air, she'd have to be carried in.

"So, uh...please don't freak out but I'm about to lift you up in the air. And put you in water that's up to your belly. And it's for your own good." She reached for Elsa with both her hands. The husky eyed them but didn't back away, and she looked at Anna as if to say that this was fine.

Anna picked her up, and the first thing she noticed was that Elsa's fur...was smooth. She was expecting soft and fluffy, like a bunny, but it was more like her hair. Which was fine, just unexpected, hopefully that meant she wouldn't shed so much while she had her.

The way Elsa rested limply in her arms reminded her of The Lion King, which made her chuckle, and putting her in the water proved to be an easier feat than expected.

Elsa walked around, curious to her new surroundings, and even started to lap up the water before realizing there'd be too much of it for her to drink. After waiting a little bit longer, Anna scooped some water into her hands and poured it on the puppy's back.

She flinched but didn't panic, so Anna continued to pour more water onto her and smiled seeing some patches of dirt come off effortlessly.

In fact, the whole bathing process went much easier than expected. Elsa walked around curiously as Anna gently scrubbed her clean. When she was done, she drained the bathtub and wiped the puppy down with a towel as best as she could.

After Elsa shook some excess water off herself, of course, and right onto Anna.

* * *

She had very limited knowledge of puppies, but knew that they at least needed food, water, shelter, and toys. The first three she'd gotten down so far, but toys were hard to come by. Or rather, they were hard to part from.

The stuffed animals in her room had a lot of sentimental value to her, but she could see Elsa eyeing them and knew that one of them had to be sacrificed to appease the puppy so she wouldn't run around and bonk her head on the table or whatever.

So, Anna chose a stuffed penguin with a button eye. It was a consolation prize she won at the fair because the guy running the coin toss took pity on her. While it would still be hard to part with Sir Jorgenbjorgen, it was kind of nice knowing that he would still be used for a good cause.

Anna sat on the couch, watching Elsa bat the old penguin around and chew on its button eye. It was nice seeing how well the newly-cleaned husky puppy was taking to her apartment. Or...not.

This was supposed to be a temporary thing, just until she found Elsa's owner. The less that the puppy got attached to this place, and to her, the better. But then what if she had run away from a crappy owner? Would she really want to take Elsa back to them?

And how would she even go about finding the owner? Going old school and putting up "FOUND DOG" posters around the neighborhood? There was no identification on her collar aside from the name, but the fact that she had one meant that she had an owner somewhere out there.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Elsa barking and growling at the lifeless penguin on her carpet. It was mighty in its own little way, but still high-pitched and squeaky, lacking any bass at all. Just like Elsa.

Seeing the surprisingly quick transition from timid, dirty stray to energetic, clean...still technically a stray warmed Anna's heart.

"Crap," she muttered, "I'm already falling in love with you, aren't I?"

Elsa paused for a second at the sound of Anna's voice, tilting her head as if waiting to hear anything else. After getting nothing else but a simple smile, she went back to work.

"Either way, I gotta take care of you," she continued. "At least for now, until we can find your owners."

A thought popped into her head, and she pulled out her phone to text the one person who could help her out with this new dilemma.

* * *

**ANNA:** _Heyyyy, I got a thing I need your help with. Could you come over tomorrow?_

It doesn't take long for her to get a reply.

**KRISTOFF:** _A thing? Like a girl thing?_

**ANNA:** _You really think I'd be asking you about a girl thing lol_

**KRISTOFF:** _What's up?_

**ANNA:** _I'll tell you when you get here. Pleeeeeeassseeeee?_

**KRISTOFF:** _Anna_

**ANNA:** _Please? I'll buy you ice cream!_

**KRISTOFF:** _With what money?_

**ANNA:** _...I'll make you a sandwich?_

**KRISTOFF:** _-_- Fine, I'll be there at like 11_

**ANNA:** _Yes! Thank youu, love you, you're the best!_

**KRISTOFF:** _Mmhmm._

* * *

Anna put away her phone, relieved that at least she'd have her older brother for advice and support on this new...thing. It was kinda rude to call Elsa a "thing", but she learned a long time ago that the vaguer her request was, the easier Kristoff would get on board with it.

"I think you'll like Kristoff," she says to Elsa, "He works part-time at an animal shelter, so he'll probably know what to do. Cause I sure as heck don't, heh. Okay, bad joke...that was a bad joke. I'm doing my best here."

Elsa, unfazed by all this, continued chewing on Jorgenbjorgen's eye.

"I...really am. Never had a dog before, or any pets really. I know you won't be sticking around for too long, but you've made _this_ day interesting at least. I'll make sure to get you some actual puppy food tomorrow too, and maybe another toy, and a blanket. While you're here, you're going to get the best care that money can buy. Well...all the best care that _my_ money can buy, which isn't a lot. Unfortunately."

But it was enough, she told herself.

This was something she'd never done before. The relationships she had in the past were all mutually exclusive, give-and-take (usually give, on her end). Puppies had no form of reciprocation other than licking and being cute. And yet she still wanted to do her best when it came to taking care of Elsa. If only temporarily.

After being told constantly, in different ways and forms, that she wasn't good enough...maybe this was what she needed to prove that she _was._ Maybe Elsa was the sign of her luck finally turning around.

Elsa stopped chewing on the penguin and walked slowly to the other side of her living room/kitchen. Maybe she was finally tuckered out from a long day of doing puppy stuff.

Anna smiled, "I'll do my best. While I have you here, I'll do my best."

Elsa responded by peeing on her carpet.


	3. Chapter 3

" **S** o you just...found her. In an alley."

"Eeyup, gave her my sandwich too."

"Anna…"

She sighs, "Kristoff, I couldn't just leave her there. And besides, she followed me out. What was I supposed to do? Push her away?"

Kristoff arrived at Anna's apartment around 10:30, breakfast in tow even though she never asked for any. He was reasonably surprised and cautious about the puppy currently trying to eat his sister's shoelaces. And as they both sat at her kitchen table discussing what to do, Anna realized that she wasn't going to get the uber positive answers she wanted.

Especially when Elsa tried to eat his shoelaces too.

"And you have no idea who the owners are?"

Anna shrugged, "No idea. But I did print out a poster that I was gonna put around town." She slid a paper over to her brother, on it was a blurry picture of the husky because she couldn't sit still for one second, basic information about Elsa's appearance, and Anna's contact information. "She's an adorable puppy, whoever the owner is must be worried sick about them."

He nods and hands the paper back to her, "Well it's good to know you're not thinking of keeping her."

"Uh...what's that supposed to mean?"

Kristoff gestured to her tiny, now fur-infested apartment, "Anna, you can barely took care of yourself. And huskies are a pretty active and needy breed, for gosh sake you're feeding her ham slices out of a cereal bowl!"

"I've had her for _one_ day, dude. Cut me some slack. And she's been doing pretty okay, for now." Anna decides not to tell him about all the times Elsa peed on her carpet. "Besides, it's not like I've had any time to get her stuff. I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone."

"Do you _know_ what to get her?" Kristoff questioned.

"Uh...duh, I was researching all of that last night while she was sleeping on my foot- which was adorable, I might add."

"Do you have the _money_ to get her everything?"

Anna opened her mouth to speak, closed it again, and frowned, "Look, I know I didn't think this through beforehand. But it's happening now, and I just...I need your help, okay? Can you please help me?"

Ever since they were kids, Kristoff had always been the more level-headed, if sometimes meaner, person out of them both. When she lost the jacket their parents got her for Christmas, he helped her retrace her steps to find it. When she broke a lamp jumping across their couch, he was there to help hide the evidence. When she was finally old enough to need tampons, he was there to get their mom to do it.

It was a tale as old as time for them: impulsive Anna getting herself into trouble, amazing older brother Kristoff telling her how to get out of it.

And with his experience volunteering at the shelter, he'd have to know what the next right thing was.

Kristoff looked under the table at Elsa, who had made her way back to resting her head on Anna's foot. For such a little ball of energy, she sure tuckered out pretty easily. He had a serious look on his face when he glanced back at his little sister, "Anna, why are you doing this?"

Anna raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"You could have easily just dropped her off at the shelter or called animal control, and be done with this. Instead, you took Elsa back home with you, gave her a bath, fed her, and even sacrificed Jorgenbjorgen to her."

"She needed a toy," Anna reasoned.

His relenting seriousness remained, "Come on, sis. What's this about? I'm gonna help you, but I need to know why you're working this hard for a stray."

It'd be easy to wave off Kristoff's question by saying that it was the right thing to do, that he would do the same thing in her position, but she couldn't do that. It was a question that she had spent all last night thinking about too. She'd only known Elsa for a day, so why was she trying so hard? Why go to these lengths to take care of something when she could barely take care of herself?

Well, it's because…

Anna bent down to scratch the peaceful pup behind her ears, "Because...I need a win, Kristoff, and you of all people should know how much I need that. Everything's been going so wrong lately, and I want to prove to myself that I can do _something_ right. Even if it's taking care of a stray puppy for a few days before I find her owner. And besides, when she followed me out of that alleyway, I...I don't know it just felt like she wanted something to go right for her too. Like maybe I was the first person to show her some kindness and compassion, and she wanted more of that."

It's silent for just a moment as Anna recomposes herself, she hated being too serious for too long.

To accentuate that, she picked Elsa up and cradled the confused husky in her arms. "Plus I mean look at her! Isn't the cutest freaking thing you've _ever_ seen?! She's like a little cupcake!" Elsa's eyes widened at the sudden intrusion of her beauty rest.

"You've met my kids, right?"

"Yeah, and Elsa's cuter. By a huuuuge margin." She scratched Elsa behind the ears before putting her down, and the puppy skittered off to the kitchen to drink from her cereal bowl. "So anyway...yeah, that's why I want to do this."

Kristoff's look is still serious, but it's softened a little bit. He scratches the stubble along his jawline, looking one more time at Elsa before responding. "And you're sure that finding her owner is your top priority. _Not_ keeping her?"

Anna nods, although she'd be lying if she said she hadn't considered it. Especially when Elsa fell asleep last night after nipping at her toes. But no, finding her owners had to be her main focus.

He nods slowly, "Okay, there's a shelter just a couple blocks from your apartment. Go there and see about finding Elsa's owners _and_ to see if she has a microchip on her. While you're doing that, I'll run out and get her everything she'll need to stay here for a week. That's food, a blanket, a water bowl, and some pads- yes, I could smell the pee as soon as I walked in."

Dang it.

"That sounds like a lot of money, for you I mean. Are you sure?"

"Well it's either that, or I can come with you to the shelter where we can just drop Elsa off."

"No!"

Kristoff's eyes widened, and Elsa perked her head up from the sudden outburst. That was...something.

Anna coughed and shook her head, "I mean, um...no, I want to st-stick with this taking care of her thing. For now, temporarily I mean. Just for now. And I-I'll pay you back for whatever it is that you buy."

Her older brother chuckled, "Anna, I've rarely ever seen you this determined in your life. That's all the payment I need."

The redhead let out a happy squeal that rivaled the noise she heard Elsa make yesterday. "Thank youuuu!" she said while patting her brother's hands. "You're not gonna regret this! Me and Elsa are gonna head to the shelter right now!"

She raced to her door and called Elsa over once she opened it.

"Wait, do you have a leash for her?" Kristoff asked.

"A what now?"

Elsa scurried past her legs and right out the open door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Shoutout to Fruipit for making me update this out of spite.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: By far the longest chapter of the story. Which...isn't saying much since there's only four of them.

**I** t takes fifteen minutes to wrangle Elsa back into her arms, twenty minutes to find a neighbor who has a spare leash, and then another fifteen minutes to get to the shelter. Surprisingly, Elsa doesn't pee until they're just about to be called in to the vet's office.

Even though the staff says they'll clean it up, it doesn't stop Anna from feeling guilty that her dog did that. Even though Elsa's not her dog…

Microchip. Right, that's why she was there. She has to check if Elsa is chipped.

As soon as the door closes, Elsa darts to a corner of the room to, of course, pee. And honestly, this time Anna doesn't blame her, because she'd be terrified of being in this room too if she was a dog.

Past the cheerful vet assistant cooing at and reassuring Elsa, the rest of the room is cold, tiny, and daunting. There's a big metal table in the center, counter space with medical equipment that Anna thought was only used on humans, and informational posters on the wall about things like dog teeth and, conveniently, microchipping.

"She is such a beautiful puppy," the assistant says as she steps away and types something on the computer.

"Thank you," Anna replies without thinking. "I-I mean she's not mine, but yeah she's really cute."

"So you're here for a general checkup and to see if she has a chip, correct?"

"That's right. I wanna make sure that whoever her owners are know that she's safe and sound."

The assistant beams at her. "Well, that's very thoughtful of you." She finishes whatever she's typing on the computer and places Elsa on the metal table, it takes her a second to get used to the smooth surface. Anna's afraid she might fall, but the smart puppy gets her bearings. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna let Dr. Maren know that you're ready."

The assistant leaves and Anna stays right next to Elsa so she doesn't freak out. Which, to her credit, she really isn't. She looks at the redhead curiously, and is whimpering a little bit, but settles down when she scratches her behind ears.

"Don't worry, when this is over, I'll get you...whatever the dog-version of ice cream is," Anna says. "Unless they find your owner right away and this is the last time I see you."

That thought sobered Anna up quickly.

What _if_ this was the last time she got to see Elsa? It wasn't like she was her dog, so it shouldn't tear her up and she'd definitely have to go back to her owners. But Anna would be lying if she said she wouldn't miss her. Sure, it'd only been a day, but the pure white husky had added some much-needed color to that day.

Anna bit her lip, "On second thought, let's not think about that."

Elsa began nibbling on her fingers with her tiny, yet still pointy, teeth in response. It hurt, but it was also endearing. Maybe she should tell Elsa to stop? Man, she really didn't know a lot about dogs.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and someone who hopefully knew a lot about dogs stepped in. And...oh dear.

She's cute.

Light-brown skin, gorgeous black hair in a neat and simple braid, and narrow yet striking eyes are all making Anna's heart race. And the white coat is the icing on the cake for Anna, considering her first crush was on Meredith Grey.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Maren," she says with this sweet contralto voice as she stretches her hand out. "It's nice to meet you. Anna, right?"

It takes an embarrassingly long time (two seconds) before Anna responds and shakes said hand. "Uh y-yeah. Yes, it's nice to meet you too, Dr. Maren."

"And I'm saying your name correctly?"

Not really, she was saying it like AH-nna, and not O-nna. "Mmhmm, that's my name. Anna Muenster, like the cheese." Oh goodness, she didn't break out the horrible cheese line unless she was really smitten.

Thankfully, the doctor didn't comment on it. "Well good." Dr. Maren shifted her gaze and attention to the puppy, "And this must be Elsa! Wow, what a gorgeous dog."

"Thank you," Anna smiled and then shook her head, "I-I mean she's not mine, but I figured you must have already figured that out. I did give her a bath, though."

"How thoughtful," Dr. Maren said with a warm smile that Anna absolutely wanted to see more of. "My assistant told me that you were wanting to check if Elsa was microchipped. I'll test for it, but first I'm going to do a routine checkup to see if there are any health concerns we should be aware of."

"That sounds good, I'm sure Elsa would appreciate that." Anna didn't want to risk any more nonsense coming out of her mouth, like assuming what a dog would appreciate, and reached out to pet Elsa. Unfortunately, she ended up bumping into the impossibly smooth hands of the veterinarian. "Oh jeez, I'm sorry."

Again, Dr. Maren didn't acknowledge her awkwardness, as she was already grabbing a clipboard and her stethoscope. "Now you said she's a stray, correct? So you're unaware of her birth date?"

"No."

"Hmm, well judging by her size I'd say she's about a couple of months old. Such a tiny thing." Dr. Maren's got an intense look on her face, but her voice is soft and calming. She handles Elsa with care, and the husky looks fairly intent on letting the vet do her job. "And so well-behaved too."

Anna chuckled and muttered, "Tell that to Jorgenbjorgen."

"What was that?"

Gosh, she's got the hearing skills of a rabbit. "Erm, n-nothing. That's just the name of a stuffed penguin that I gave her to play with."

Dr. Maren raised a perfectly-threaded eyebrow, "I was under the assumption that you gave her a bath and then brought her here."

"Actually no, she stayed the night at my house."

"So you've had her in your possession for a whole day?"

Anna shrugged, "Kinda. Yeah. Is that bad?"

Dr. Maren pursed her lips, but she didn't look as if she was judging the clueless redhead. "Not necessarily. How did she take to your home?"

"Pretty well, I think. I didn't have a lot of supplies so she kinda...peed everywhere. And aside from a chewed-up penguin, she didn't really destroy anything."

"And where did she sleep?"

"On my bed."

"Uh...hmm." She took a second to write something down on her clipboard and then resumed her examination of Elsa. "Well, she must have been lost for a while then, if she felt comfortable enough to stay in your home for even a day."

For some reason, that makes Anna feel very proud of herself. Like it dispelled the notion that she was, according to her ex-girlfriend, "clueless and non-sacrificing."

The checkup continues as normal. Dr. Maren only makes comments to herself about Elsa's condition, and Elsa remains silent and obedient throughout the process aside from a yelp when she got a thermometer up her butt. Anna stood and watched with a supportive smile, forcing herself to keep looking at the cute vet so much.

"Well, there are some cuts underneath her fur, but they aren't too deep and don't look infected," Dr. Maren remarked as she finished writing on her clipboard. Elsa's sitting on the table with her head down, looking like a depressed sphynx. "And there's early signs of gingivitis, likely caused by a lack of healthy food. But there's nothing I can see that can't be healed with some time and TLC."

"That's great!" Anna bent down and gently stroked the top of Elsa's head. "You hear that, Elsa? You're doing just fine."

Elsa responded with a quick huff from her nose, probably not feeling up to celebrating after the whole butt thermometer thing.

"Now I couldn't feel for a microchip, and there's no indication that she has one on her tag, but I wanna be thorough." Dr. Maren pulled a small device out of a drawer that looked like a remote without any buttons. "This is used to scan microchips, if Elsa has any then the device will beep and we can go from there."

Anna nodded, "And what if it doesn't find one?"

Dr. Maren smiled before turning on the device, "Then we can go from _there_."

She doesn't know what that means, but it sounds both positive and ominous at the same time. She watches as the vet moves the scanner around Elsa like a metal detector, her lips purse as the seconds tick by without any beeping noises.

After about a minute, and a second run-through, Dr. Maren put the scanner back and sighed, "No chip."

"...oh. Then what does that mean?"

"Well, it means that finding her owners will be a little more difficult than I'd hope." On the table is also a container with dog treats inside, she takes one out and gives half of one to Els, who happily eats it up. "We'll post a picture and her information on our website, and contact the shelters around the area to do the same."

"What can I do?" Anna asked.

Dr. Maren chuckled, "Get some rest? You did a good thing bringing Elsa here, now it's time for us to do our part. She'll stay here to get some more proper treatment, and hopefully, by the time she's fully healed, we'll have located her owners."

...oh.

Well, that's...good, right?

Elsa will be safe here, in the hands of the world's cutest veterinarian, and she'll be around other dogs and be fed properly. And Anna won't have to worry about any supplies, and getting pee on her carpet. This is a good thing. For both of them.

And yet it doesn't feel like it, because that nagging thought in the back of her mind that she tried not to entertain was winning out.

Anna didn't want to let Elsa go.

She bit her lip, "And what happens if... _I_ want to keep her?"

Dr. Maren smiles as if she was expecting that question, "City law states that we're legally required to hold on to any strays for at least seventy-two hours. After that, they're either put up for sale or disposed of in a humane fashion."

Disposed of? Wait, no. "But-but that second one's not gonna happen, right? I-I mean you said so yourself, she's healthy."

"In Elsa's case, I don't think you'll have to worry about that." She stroked Elsa's back and smiled, but this time it was for Anna alone. "Besides, she's already got one potential owner, apparently."

Man if that doesn't make her stomach do somersaults.

"Regardless, she'll need to stay here for seventy-hours. After that, if we haven't found the owners, then we can contact you about, well, keeping her. Could I have your number?"

Anna shook her head, "Wait, what?"

"Your number. So we can contact you with any updates."

"Uh...oh! Right! Yeah, I have a number. It's on my phone." What? "Here, let me give it to you."

The appointment winded down after that bit of scathing, one-sided awkwardness. After finishing out the rest of the paperwork, and securing space in the shelter, Dr. Maren let Anna hold Elsa one more time.

And hopefully not the _last_ time.

She didn't want to get so attached to this puppy, but the way she just melted and settled into her arms made Anna never want to let her go. Elsa's eyes were half-lidded, and she let out another nose huff while in her arms.

"Keep the leash just in case," Dr. Maren said. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of her."

And for the first time since she'd left her apartment, Anna let her true emotions show fully. She sighed, "I know you will. I'm just...it's stupid, but I'd hate if I had to say goodbye to Elsa so soon."

"I understand, believe me. But you did the right thing bringing her here, you gave her a second chance at life. You should be proud of yourself for that."

"I am," Anna said, getting the last of her petting out for at least the next seventy-two hours. "I am…"

To say that it was hard for her to relinquish Elsa would be an understatement. When both she and the doctor left through the door that leads to the main area of the shelter, Anna swore she saw the puppy look back at her.

The walk back to the car- _alone_ \- was tough, but Anna managed to do that, and make the drive back to her apartment. Part of her knew that this might be the last time she saw Elsa, even though most of her didn't accept that. She did say she needed a win, and maybe this was it. As short-lived as it was, a win is a win.

But it didn't feel right, no, it didn't feel complete. Not without the puppy, not without Elsa.

As she turned off her car, she realized that she had been clutching the borrowed leash this whole time. Her neighbor said to just keep it since she had extras anyway, and Anna was going to.

She looked at the blue nylon strap fondly, resting her thumb on one of the snowflakes patterned across it. At that moment, as unexplainable as it was, she knew that this wouldn't be the last time she was going to see Elsa. Seventy-two hours was a long time, and she could get that daunting call anytime before that saying they found her owners.

But Anna had faith, she had to have faith. Elsa was counting on her.

And besides, she would take any excuse to see Dr. Maren again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Have another dog fic update too, because love can be more than just romantic tension between exes forced to live with each other. 

**S** ixty hours and counting, and still no word from Dr. Maren.

It's been more stressful than Anna was expecting, and with her still being unemployed, it wasn't like she had a job to distract her. She did, however, get another interview during this time period as a dishwasher at this local restaurant. Hopefully, they call her back.

Aside from that, she spent those remaining hours hanging out with Kristoff and his family (she still hadn't gotten used to being called "Auntie Anna"), editing her resume, and researching anything and everything about huskies.

Everything she found out came as a surprise to her, from the growth charts to their learning habits. They're a curious, energetic, wrecking-ball of a breed. _If_ Anna ended up as her owner, she was predicting a lot of gnawed-up furniture in her future. Unless, you know, she trained Elsa. Which she was planning to do.

It didn't help that she was already picturing what she'd do if Elsa came into her possession, and pushing away the thought of that not happening. She could be setting herself up for disappointment, and that brought with it a lot of unneeded worry and anxiety.

But she had hope, too. After almost three days of no contact, and with it already being 10 PM, she had some hope that Elsa would still be there.

Waiting for her.

The leash her neighbor gave her was wrapped neatly on her nightstand, and Anna looked at it fondly. She was trying to sleep, but thoughts of tomorrow were keeping her up.

Anxiety wasn't entirely new to her, she had it pretty bad when she was a kid (especially the day before a big test or presentation), and during the last couple of years of her parents' marriage. Deep breathing, journaling, and venting to Kristoff- who wasn't available right now- were all methods she'd used to help ease it, but there was one that helped more than anything else.

She walked to the other side of her room, next to her desk, and picked up her guitar case. Setting it gently on her bed, she unlatched it and pulled out the present she got for her fifteenth birthday.

The mahogany was cold to the touch, and the maroon color of the pick guard was dulled by the darkness, but the nylon strings shone in the moonlight. Anna smiled as she set the acoustic guitar on her lap and began to tune it.

She saw this exact model on display when she was fourteen and bugged her parents forever to get it for her. They tried to dissuade her by bringing up prices for guitars, the maintenance costs, and how stressful it was learning an instrument, but Anna relented. And so, when she turned fifteen, the beauty was waiting for her on her bed.

Anna played it every chance she got, even took lessons, and learned every song she could think of. Over time, it morphed from a casual pastime into a much-needed stress reliever. Whenever life seemed to weigh her down, and the world felt like it was against her, Anna would pull out good ol' Joan, and pluck and strum her problems away.

If only for the moment.

And on nights like this, when the stress was threatening to get to her way too much, she would put on her capo and sing the first song she ever learned on the guitar.

_When I was younger I saw, my daddy cry_

_And curse at the wind_

_He broke his own heart, and I watched_

_As he tried to reassemble it_

Anna didn't know how poignant this song would be later in her life, she was simply in love with Hayley Williams at the time and knew that this had to be the first song she learned how to play. It was frustrating at first, since she knew nothing about chords and notes or anything like that, but she stuck it out.

And now, whenever life got her down, she'd sing this song and it was like she was fifteen years old again. And life wasn't so hard anymore.

_And I've always lived like this_

_Keeping a comfortable distance_

_And up until now, I had sworn to myself_

_That I'm content with loneliness_

Now, once again, this song was taking on another meaning. Her parents divorced just nine months ago, and her girlfriend Ariel broke up with her four months ago. It felt like she was being abandoned by everyone she loved, even Kristoff had his own family to prioritize now.

Instead of lamenting it anymore, Anna gradually began to accept it. She began to accept that loneliness was always going to follow her, because it was beginning to feel natural. Maybe being lonely wouldn't be so bad, maybe it was fine that she didn't really have friends per se, and that she spent most of her days in her apartment searching for jobs to keep her busy.

Maybe this was how life was supposed to be…

But then Elsa happened. The first bit of non-Kristoff contact she'd had in months, and it reminded her that loneliness... _sucked._ Like it _really_ sucked. Having Elsa around for just one day reminded her how sweet it was having someone, anyone, around. And all the puppy wanted in return was food, water, and a place to pee and run around.

She wasn't content with loneliness, not anymore, now that she met Elsa.

The song picked up on the bridge, and so did her strumming. She sang with an energy and emotion she hadn't felt in a long, _long_ time.

_I've got a tight grip on REALITY but I caaaaan't_

_Let go of what's in FRONT OF ME heeeeeere_

_I know you're leaving in the MORNING, when you wake uuuuup_

_Leave me with some kind of PROOF it's not a dream_

Admittedly, these were weird lyrics to dedicate to a dog. But the mood fit...kind of. This was more for her than anyone else right now, but she sang with a hope that she and Elsa would be reunited again.

Twelve more hours, and hey if she didn't hear anything, then she'd just go to the shelter herself. Where the cute Dr. Maren was, where Elsa was. Just so she could see her again.

She couldn't wait to see her again.

With one last reserved chorus, she fingered the strings gently, and her voice settled along with her mind.

_You are the only exception_

_You are the only exception_

_You are the only exception_

_You are...the only exception_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, fam. Was working on my submission for the monthly Elsanna fanfic contest.
> 
> ...actually I'm not sorry, it's my life.

**T** his should be a good visit. When Dr. Maren told her over the phone that she wanted to talk to her, Anna felt like she sounded positive. So _,_ this _should_ be a good visit.

And yet she can't keep her foot from bouncing.

It helps her anxiety a little bit seeing how warm and inviting Dr. Maren's office is. It's small but quaint, painted a cream white with her vet degrees on the wall and cute knick-knacks on her desk. She's tempted to touch the dalmatian bobblehead. Well...tempted to touch it again.

At the very least, she hopes she'll get to see Elsa again. Last night, she dreamt that the husky turned out into a big, beautiful dragon that she rode into battle against marshmallow men.

Much like their first encounter, Dr. Maren entered the scene hurried and ready to get down to business. She's still got on her cute doctor's jacket- which, duh, that's her uniform, of course she'd be wearing it. "Anna, it's nice to see you again," she says with an outstretched hand.

Still pronouncing her name wrong.

"Uh yeah, it's really good to see you too," Anna replied, shaking her surprisingly soft hand, and _not_ correcting her. "How are y-"

"So, I've got good news and bad news," the doctor interjects unknowingly as she sits in her chair. "Which one do you want first?"

Anna wrings her hands together, keeping them below the table so they're not visible. "The bad news? I guess?"

She nods and rearranges some papers on her desk, "Well the bad news is that the seventy-two-hour window has come and gone, and no one has arrived to claim ownership of Elsa. Which means that her owners are either long gone, or don't care to get her back."

The thought of that upsets Anna. Who wouldn't want to have such an adorable puppy in their house? Anna bit her lip, "And the good news?"

"Well the good news is actually up to interpretation, but this means that Elsa is up for adoption." She says that with a smile and looks curiously at Anna, "Now I remember you mentioning that you were interested in adopting Elsa. Are you still-"

"Yes!"

Dr. Maren's eyes widened. Crap, that was supposed to be a thought.

"Uh, I mean yeah. Y-yes. Yeah, I'm still interested for sure. Is she okay?"

Deciding against making Anna feel even more embarrassed, Dr. Maren nods, "She's been doing wonderfully. The cuts are healing up nicely and she's been well fed and taken care of. She tends to keep to herself, but that's to be expected right now. She probably shouldn't be around a lot of dogs anyway until she's had all her shots."

That sounds lonely, but then Anna knows what that feels like. When she was in the first grade, she got chickenpox, and all her classmates avoided her for the rest of the year.

Dr. Maren takes a second to text someone and then returns her attention back to Anna. "My assistant is going to bring Elsa over, meanwhile you and I should talk about the price."

Right, of course they wouldn't just give her Elsa for free. Luckily, Anna had suspected an adoption fee and saved away a little bit of money.

"Taking into account monthly check-ups, the rarity of Elsa's breed, the standard adoption fee, and a certificate of ownership, you're looking at about $750 today."

But not _that_ much!

Anna stifles a yelp, "That much? Really?"

Dr. Maren nods at her, sympathetic, "How much can you pay right now? You can put something down, and we can set up bi-weekly payments."

"Like $100 right now, but…" Considering she doesn't have a job, she can't inconvenience Kristoff anymore, and she needs money to pay for food and, well, life, "...I don't know when I can get the rest."

Gosh, she hated being poor. Maybe getting a puppy might not be the best idea…

"I'm sorry, Anna. I was under the impression that you had the finances to afford Elsa. Our free adoption events are bi-annually, and the next one isn't until four months from now. I can't guarantee that Elsa will still be here by then."

Before she can say anything else, the door opens and an assistant comes in with a familiar husky in tow. And maybe Elsa senses Anna's declining mood, or she just missed her that much, but she tugged her way forward until she was right by the redhead's feet.

It helped immediately.

"Heeey girl!" Anna said cheerfully as she scratched Elsa's back, "Did you miss me?"

Elsa yipped and tried attacking her fingers, but in a cute way.

Anna giggled, "I missed you too. Kind of a lot."

Elsa responded by trying to eat her shoelaces.

Words could barely describe how much joy this bitey bundle of fur brought Anna. After three days apart, it was like they were picking up exactly where they left off. She thinks the assistant says something about her not being this energetic in the shelter, but she's too enthralled by Elsa trying to fight her shoe.

It's too bad that this might be the last time Anna gets to see her.

"I missed you too…" she says again, doing her best not to sigh dramatically. The last thing she wants to do is show Dr. Maren how sad she'd be if she couldn't adopt Elsa.

Wait no, that's exactly what she wants to do.

When she's able to pry her eyes away from Elsa for a second, she looks back at the second cutest thing in the room, "Dr. Maren, there's gotta be something I can do. I'll take excellent care of her, and bring her every month to get her shots, and train her, and feed her and everything."

"I understand, trust me. But you're not the first potential owner to come here and say those same things. Unfortunately, most of the time that we've made exceptions, the animals usually come straight back to the shelter. For better or worse." Dr. Maren pulled a pair of papers that were near Anna back towards herself, "We can't take that risk anymore."

No, this can't be the end.

Not after everything...okay so they haven't really gone through a lot yet. But oh no, Elsa's looking up at her with those adorable, blue eyes like she knows what they're talking about. She won't leave without Elsa, not again.

So, while Dr. Maren is busy telling her assistant the situation- with a solemn face to show that she hates doing this just as much- Anna says the first thing that comes out of her mouth. Which usually ends up biting her in the butt, but right now she's desperate.

"What if I work for her?"

Dr. Maren stops talking to her assistant and looks back at Anna with a raised eyebrow, "I'm sorry?"

Well, that got her attention. Now you have to reel her in, Anna Muenster.

"What if I work here at this shelter until I can pay off the rest of the adoption fee? There's gotta be some job here that no one really wants to do, right? You don't even have to keep me on once I pay off the full amount, and I will literally do anything."

"Anna…"

"Look, I don't care if the shift starts at three in the morning, I don't care if it pays ten cents an hour, I just _don't_ want to leave here without Elsa. I can't explain it, but it just feels like she and I could be good for each other. And you saw how she reacted when she saw me, she missed me too!" Anna bent down to pet Elsa who then proceeded to lick her hand. "Please...just let me do something. Let me earn her."

Dr. Maren didn't say anything at first. She looked at her assistant who just shrugged. With a sigh, she turned back to Anna and pushed back the papers toward her. "We do have a morning custodian position that we've been trying to fill."

"I'll take it!" Anna said so suddenly that it made Elsa jump a little.

"Your shift would start at 6 AM."

"I'll take it."

"You'd be spending most of your time picking up dog poop."

" _I'll take it._ "

"And it's only part-time so we can't be able to provide you any benefits."

"I. Will. Take. It."

And _finally_ Dr. Maren cracks a smile again, even letting out an amused little chuckle, "Okay okay! The job's yours. We'll get you the paperwork for it, and we'll start on the paperwork for Elsa right now too. Sound good?"

Anna's smile is so wide, it almost hurts her cheeks. She picks up Elsa, who doesn't protest, and places her in her lap. The puppy settles in nicely, nibbling at her finger.

"Sounds perfect."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello hello, everyone. I hope you guys are staying safe and healthy while this virus stuff is going down. The world's a little crazy right now, and not in a good way, so I hope this chapter will help lighten up your spirits. If only for a minute.

**Chapter 7**

**W** ith a minute left on her break, Anna looked over her Pros and Cons list of her new job one more time.

_Pros:_

_\- I get to see Elsa all the time now_

_\- The pay is good_

_\- All the animals here are SO cute_

_\- Dr. Maren is...amazing_

_\- Once I work off the adoption fee, I can keep Elsa for good_

_Cons:_

_\- Animals poop._

_\- A LOT._

_\- It's disgusting and smells so bad._

_\- Dr. Maren always walks by when I conveniently have bags of poop in my hands._

_\- I hate poop._

She closed out of the document and slipped her phone back in her pocket. She'd been at this job for about a couple of weeks now and had finally started settling into a groove. In a couple of hours, her shift would be over and she'd have a couple of days off. It was strange having her "weekend" be on Wednesday and Thursday, but it was just another adjustment she'd have to make.

And she'd had to make many.

An early morning start meant setting five alarms and getting used to the taste of coffee. Cleaning out cages and play areas meant needing to get used to the smell of poop and vomit, and not having an appetite for half the day. And having a puppy of her own meant getting used to having someone else live with her.

Thankfully, Elsa was proving to be a welcome addition. She was playful and energetic like most puppies, and Anna couldn't take her on walks yet so all of that energy was contained in the confines of her apartment. Which meant if Anna's alarms didn't wake her up, then Elsa's howling sure did. And man did this dog have a tiny bladder…

Anna left the break room and walked back to the custodian's closet (her "office"). She wasn't just tasked with cleaning up after the animals, but also the human animals. Right now, her top priority was cleaning the bathrooms, a job she hated so much that she left it as one of the last things on her to-do list.

If she hated it so much, it probably should have been one of the first things she did. But there was no point in cleaning a relatively clean restroom at 6 in the morning. And she wanted to show that she was dedicated to this job.

Anna peeked into the men's restroom, wanting to get this disgusting place out of the way first. When she didn't see anyone inside, she propped the door open with her cart and took a deep breath.

Which turned out to be a bad idea. She coughed and hacked until the stench of "man" was out of her noses, and shook her head. "Bleugh, alright Anna Muenster let's get this done."

No time to think, just scrub and wipe and throw away the trash. In twenty minutes, she was done and thoroughly relieved. Another half an hour later, and she was finished cleaning the women's restroom too. Thankfully, there were only two rooms to clean.

After she put away the cart and washed her hands for an eternity, Anna got to work on her final task: walking around the building whilst holding a broom and dustpan. She didn't need it, it was just so no one could accuse her of not doing anything. This last step was more just to ensure that she didn't forget to do anything.

And it also gave her an excuse to stop by Dr. Maren's office.

Sometimes her door would be open, and she'd have these short ten-second conversations with the doctor (which were always one of the highlights of her day). Sometimes, they'd be closed if she was on the phone or in a meeting.

Today, it was open, but Dr. Maren had just slipped on her coat, possibly about to leave.

"Oh, hi Anna!" The doctor said when she saw the redhead awkwardly standing by her door. "Did you need something? I was just about to go out and meet a patient."

It took a few even more awkward seconds for Anna to register that she was asked a question. "Me? Oh n-no! No, I'm just here cleaning. Brooms and sweeping and all that."

"Oh, mmkay. Your shift is almost over, right?"

She remembered her schedule! "Yeah, I'm just finishing up. With cleaning, it's fun. Very rewarding." Oh dear, this went _so_ much better in her head. Then again, it always does.

"Well then don't let me keep you," Dr. Maren said with a polite smile before patting Anna's shoulder and walking past her.

And as if the ghost of bad timing had overtaken her, Anna yelped out a "Wait!" before Dr. Maren rounded a corner. She stopped and turned her head, eyeing the flustered custodian curiously.

"What is it?" she said in a voice that felt like she was in a rush. Because of course she was, she had to see a patient. Which meant Anna needed to make this quick, and say it exactly the way she'd rehearsed it in her "office".

"I-I just wanted to say," Anna cleared her throat, "Have a good weekend."

Dr. Maren looked at her as if she'd asked her to give her a high five, "Uh...it's Tuesday."

...right.

"Uh it's actually _my_ weekend since I have the next two days off, that's why I said that. So, um, have a good 'my' weekend, I guess?" Anna had never failed a test, interview, or date as badly as she was failing this conversation right now.

The doctor laughed, but it was more of a pity laugh than a genuine one. Anna had heard those many times before. "I'll, uh...I'll try. Thank you, Anna, I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Thanks! You too!" When Dr. Maren finally walked away, leaving her to wallow in her self-made pool of cringe, Anna added a soft, "I miss you already" as a joke. Fortunately, no one was around to hear that.

* * *

Anna unlocked her door, thankful that her workday was finally over. On the drive back, she added: "I don't know how to talk to Dr. Maren" to her _Cons_ list.

Thankfully, her biggest blessing was waiting for her right behind the door, howling away inside her kennel when Anna finally walked in.

"Hi, Elsa!" Anna said as she excitedly walked over and unlocked the husky's kennel, "How's the best puppy in the- oh right, you need to pee."

Elsa scurried onto the pad by the hallway, squatting down with what Anna assumed was an embarrassed look on her face as she did her business. Aside from the occasional mess-up, Elsa was taking to pad training pretty well. In fact, she was taking to everything pretty well. From being cooped up in a kennel all morning, to waiting patiently for her food.

She really was this magic, fairy-tale puppy. So well-behaved and obedient for such a young and excitable thing. After Elsa was done peeing and drinking water to replenish her empty bladder, she began running up and down the hallway.

Anna giggled, "Did you lose Jorgen again?" She knew full well that the tattered penguin was in her room.

The puppy continued to run at full speed until she tripped over herself, and toppled over, only to continue running when she got right-side up again. This time, towards her. Anna knelt down, letting the puppy attack her with those tiny paws and small (yet still relatively sharp) teeth.

As long as she didn't clamp down, Anna reminded herself, then the nibbling was okay.

Elsa growled as she tugged on the cuffs of Anna's jeans. "You can smell all the other animals on me, can't you? Well don't worry, you're still my favorite. Even though I did see the cutest tabby cat today."

The puppy trailed down to her shoes, threatening to untie her laces with her teeth.

Anna stood up, "Alright. Come on, girlie." She walked to her room, Elsa walking and bouncing in front of her. She wanted desperately to get out of her uniform and into a comfy pair of pajamas.

This was nice, for the first time in forever life felt _good_. She had no worries, nothing holding her back, and a little bit more of a purpose. Once she took a shower and took a nap, she'd play with Elsa some more, figure out what to eat for late lunch/early dinner, and...well, who knows after that.

All she knew right now was that life was good. And with Elsa by her side, she planned to keep it that way.

She reminded herself to place one more thing on her _Pros_ list:

"I'm happy."


	8. Chapter 8

**I** t'd only been two weeks since she started the job, but Anna still hadn't figured out what to do on her days off. Technically, she'd had many of those when she was unemployed, but now that she was working, the days where she _wasn't_ working felt different for some reason.

Maybe it was that "new job" honeymoon period, which made her feel like she should be working even on her days off. Having a new structure to her days knocked her for a loop. Sure there were the obvious things on her to-do list (doing laundry, vacuuming the dog hair off her floor, buying groceries, etc.), but nothing for her.

Nothing recreational.

Spending time with Elsa was a given, of course, and she'd take advantage of that time as much possible.

Elsa, meanwhile, loved the freedom of being out of her kennel most of the day when Anna was home, taking this time to get familiar with her new surroundings. The way this puppy could entertain herself for hours just running and slinking around the tables was fascinating.

Anna had tried to do that once, and it ended with her getting a cut on her knee and a bruise on her forehead when she bumped it on the coffee table. Guess it only works if you're like two feet tall.

The idea of taking up a hobby popped in her head, something besides noodling around on her guitar. She was good with her hands (kind of) and going hours without speaking. Maybe she could take up painting, or writing, or maybe get a console or a better computer to do some live streaming.

She sucked at video games, but that doesn't matter as much when you're a female streamer.

Or she could do something with Elsa. In her research, and her conversations with Dr. Maren, the little husky couldn't go out on walks or interact with other dogs until she got all her shots, but that shouldn't deter them from having some fun.

And this little girl was full of fun. And so was Anna...she thought of herself as a fun person. Even if no one would ever describe her as "fun". Her ex-girlfriend sure didn't…

Which is how she found herself throwing a ball up and down her hallway, watching as Elsa tripped over herself trying to grab it. And then _not_ make the effort to bring it back to Anna.

"Well, you know half the concept of 'fetch', at least," Anna said. "Guess it's kinda hard to bring it back when the ball's as big as your head."

Elsa attacked the fuzzy tennis ball with her tiny biters, not understanding the laws of physics as it rolled forward and sent her tumbling on the floor time and time again.

Anna walked over to Elsa, picking the ball up and tossing it underhand towards the kitchen. Once again, Elsa ran for it and slid to a halt, almost hitting her head on a chair leg. And once again, she attacked the ball without any plans of bringing it back.

It'd be pretty cool if she could teach Elsa those insane tricks like walking on her front paws, or looping around her legs, or doing her taxes. But right now this was enough.

Elsa momentarily disappeared from her view while chasing the ball into the kitchen. Knowing that that's where all the food was, Anna hurried over to meet her.

"Oh no you don't," Anna said. "I just fed you an hour ago."

Speaking of which, she should probably go out and get her more food soon. Her stomach was bigger than her head, not literally because that would cause some serious intestinal damage. Anna found her by the sink, pawing at the tennis ball.

"There are you, girlie. Come on, gimme the ball back." Anna bent down to grab the ball.

And that's when Elsa bit her.

Not one of her playful ones either, this one hurt. On instinct, Anna yelped and did something she immediately regretted: she hit Elsa right on the top of her head. She was trying to go for her nose, which still would have been bad, but overshot it.

Elsa let out a yelp of her own, and then scurried away to the other side of the kitchen, whimpering and looking away at the owner that had betrayed her trust.

This was, without a doubt, the most horrible thing that Anna had ever done to anyone she'd care about. Right above that time she put salt in her dad's coffee instead of sugar. She gasped and clutched the bitten hand to her chest, "Oh no! Elsa, I'm so sorry!"

Elsa, oblivious to her apologies, continued to whimper in the corner. Guilt racked Anna's entire body, she thought she was the worst owner in the world. Right above the one who abandoned this husky in the first place.

She checked her hand, seeing two prickly white indents where teeth used to be. The bite didn't even break the skin.

Anna walked over cautiously, hoping that she could even get close to the puppy. The whimpers died down, the cowering didn't. Elsa's tail was tucked between her legs, and she had the saddest look on her tiny face.

"I'm so sorry, girl," Anna repeated, kneeling down in front of her. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt me too."

She stuck her hand out, slowly this time and with her palm up. Elsa eyed the hand, sniffed her fingers, while her owner waited with bated breath.

"It's okay," Anna said softly, "I'm not gonna hurt you. I won't hurt you ever again."

And even though Elsa wasn't human (and would probably never be human, unless there was magic involved), it almost felt like she understood her this time. She took a step forward, sniffed Anna's palm, and began to lick her hand.

Anna let out a sigh of relief, and pet the precious puppy with her free hand. "Good girl," she cooed. "The best girl."

In no time at all, they were back to playing one-sided fetch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If y'all can stay safe, then I'll keep posting chapters. We'll get through this together. Just not, you know, together. I've got commitment issues.


	9. Chapter 9

**T** he only thing worse than waking up to the sound of a blaring alarm, is _not_ waking up to the sound of a blaring alarm…

...twenty minutes after you were supposed to be at work.

"Crap crap crap crap craaaaaaaap!" Anna hurriedly put on her deodorant and slipped on her uniform, grabbing a baseball cap on the way out of her room. No time to do her hair, no time to pack her lunch (which she should have done _last night_ ), no time to even brush her teeth. This was going to be a gross day.

There was, however, one thing that she needed to make time for: Elsa.

The curious puppy stared at her from her kennel. From the whimpering and pawing at her door, it was clear that the husky was just as restless.

"Hey girl!" Anna exclaimed as she opened the kennel. "Make this quick, alright? Please?"

Elsa raced to her pad near the hallway and did her business, meanwhile Anna grabbed her bowl and poured Elsa's breakfast in it. This would make her even more late, but her puppy shouldn't have to suffer for her lack of punctuality.

_Her_ puppy, that sounds really nice to say.

If she did the math right, by the end of this week she should have paid off Elsa's entire adoption fee, which means that once the paperwork went through, the husky would be officially hers. And she could get her one of those cute metal name tags that are shaped like a bone. And a water bowl with her name on it. Maybe she'd even set up an Instagram account for her…

Nah, that'd be too cringey. Even for her.

Anna set down the bowl, and the puppy was on it in two seconds flat. Anna put her shoes on while she was waiting, hopping on one foot as she forced them on instead of tying up the laces like a normal person.

"Good girl," she said when the bowl was emptied. She carried the puppy in her arms and brought her back to her kennel. "I'll be back in a few hours, okay. If anyone answers the door, just tell them I'm not home."

Elsa settled onto her bed once again, and Anna locked the door behind her. With any luck, no one would have noticed that she was an hour late.

* * *

Someone noticed.

In fact, the worst person that could have noticed her absence was the first face she saw: Yelena.

The woman may have been getting up there in years, but she still had eyes like a hawk and the demeanor of one of those really intimidating looking dogs. Like a doberman, or a pitbull, or a chihuahua. And she was in charge of hiring for custodial and food handling positions at the shelter, which meant she was the closest thing Anna had to a supervisor.

For some reason, Yelena didn't like her as much. Maybe it's because Anna accidentally threw away her coffee on her first day.

"Yelena!" Anna yelped, hoping that she didn't sound too shocked to see her. "Hi! It's, uh...d-did you do something new with your hair?"

"You're late," Yelena replied, her grey hair looking exactly as it's always looked. "One hour late."

Anna sighed and closed her eyes, defeated, "I know, and I'm sorry. My alarm didn't wake me up this morning, it'll _never_ happen again."

"That's one strike, Ms. Muenster." Her quasi-supervisor walked away, leaving Anna to stir in her shame all by her lonesome inside the break room.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Anna clocked in and walked to the custodian's closet, her home away from home nowadays. She slipped on a pair of gloves and grabbed a scooper, trash bags, and everything else she'd need to clean the cat area. Which always seemed to be filthy no matter how much she cleaned it.

One strike, she had one strike on her record. During orientation, she was told that employees were under a Three Strike Rule. If they made a mistake that was deemed worthy of punishment (ex: yelling at the birds, stealing someone's lunch, getting to work an hour late), then they would get one "strike" on their record. Three strikes and they were fired.

The only way to remove a strike from your record is to go three months without getting another one, or if one of the heads of the shelter took off the strike themselves. Dr. Maren was one of those heads, unfortunately so was Yelena.

Anna scowled at her phone- her second alarm clock- which also didn't go off. This couldn't happen again, she wouldn't let it.

* * *

All day long, Anna felt this cloud of guilt and shame above her. Even though no one paid attention to her in the first place, she felt that every eye was on her, and every word spoken and every laugh shared was directed at her.

No matter how many times she told herself it would never happen again, and no matter how much she tried to bury herself into her work (not literally), she couldn't shake this feeling. Maybe, she wondered, if her punishment was more severe and if literally everyone else was in the breakroom to laugh and poke fun at her, then she'd feel better somehow?

It made no sense, obviously, but the _thought_ of the guillotine blade above you feels worse than the decapitation itself. Probably, right? Anna didn't know, she'd never been decapitated before.

Maybe getting fired was her equivalent to getting her head chopped off. ...okay, she had no idea where she was going with this anymore.

On the flip side, she was also relieved that no one else saw her come in, because it meant no one would remember her being late. She hated being talked about behind her back, she hated gossip, so it was also a good thing no one knew.

All things considered, she was at least relieved when she got to the end of her shift without any complications...or so she thought.

As soon as she clocked out, she heard a knock on the break room's doorway and a very familiar voice. "Anna? Could I see you in my office for a second?"

Anna turned around and smiled at Dr. Maren, internalizing all of her frantic screaming, "Uh y-yeah! Sure thing!"

Dr. Maren smiled and disappeared back down the hallway. After taking a second to make sure no one else would enter, Anna let out a shaky breath and muttered to herself, "Hoo boy, okay. Okay okay okay. This is fine, everything's fine. Everything's gonna be juuuuust fine."

Everything was gonna be _fine._

Walking down to Dr. Maren's office almost felt like a walk of shame, even though everyone else was too preoccupied with their jobs to notice her. But this couldn't be a walk of shame, because everything was gonna be _fine._

Dr. Maren was probably just going to tell her she was doing an excellent job, and give her an Employee of the Month award and her number.

Anna figured that extremely wishful thinking would cancel out the tantric anxiety rattling the rest of her brain.

She got to Dr. Maren's office and knocked on the open door frame just as the doctor had done before. "Hey, you wanted to see me?"

Dr. Maren looked at her with another smile, continuing to type away on her keyboard confidently. "Yes, I did. Could you shut the door?"

Oh boy, she just asked her to shut the door. No big deal, all meetings are private whether they're good or bad. She probably just wanted to comment on how cute her baseball cap looked and how it brought out her eyes. And she didn't want anyone else to hear that in case they got jealous. Yeah...that was totally it.

Anna shut the door and sat down in the same chair she'd been in three weeks ago when this new chapter started. She had no idea what to do with her hands, so she folded them in her lap like a princess meeting a foreign ambassador.

Dr. Maren stopped typing and leaned forward on her chair, resting her hands on her table like someone who knew exactly what to do with her hands. "Well first of all, I just wanted to check up on how you were doing."

"Uh what do you mean?" Anna mentally kicked herself for fumbling on such an easy question. That was definite firing material.

"How are you doing with the job? And adjusting to Elsa living with you?"

"Oh! Yeah, Elsa's been great! I mean she eats a lot for such a tiny puppy, and I swear she pees more than she breathes, but other than that things are fine. And this job is good too- I mean, it's great too! I love coming in every morning and just, you know, cleaning and saying hi to all the animals. I finally realized why the nozzle on the window cleaner rotates."

Dr. Maren chuckled, her deeper voice making it sound sweet and rich like...caramel. Yes, her voice sounded like melted sugar. "I'm glad to hear that. Being a first-time owner can get pretty hard, and you've got quite a challenge on your hands with a husky. And working at this shelter takes some time getting used to also."

"Eh, it's more just getting used to waking up at 5 in the morning. I haven't done that since college."

"Ah yes, those were the days," Dr. Maren gets this wistful look on her face as she stares at her three college degrees on the wall. "Staying up to write ten-thousand-word essays and drinking espressos to keep you awake because it's already 4 AM and you have a 7 AM class."

Anna giggles, thinking about her one degree in her room. "Yeah...I don't miss those days."

"Me neither."

Oh my goodness, they were bonding over something. This was nice, and a wonderful step in the right direction, and Anna wanted to do everything she could to keep this bonding moment going. But she also just wanted to skip to the part where Dr. Maren tells her that she knows she was late, and gives her another strike because her baseball cap looks stupid.

"Well in any case, I called you in here because…" Ah crap, here it comes. "...this is your third week working here, right?"

"Yes. Yes it is." And quite possibly her last.

"I thought so. That means if I did the math correctly, you should fully pay off Elsa's adoption fee by the end of this week."

"Eeyup, that's correct too." Oh dear, she was gonna give her a third strike just for saying "Eeyup".

"Good! Then I will get all her papers in order and have you sign them before your next day off. Soon you will have official and complete ownership of Elsa."

Anna isn't even exaggerating when she replies with "Nothing would make me happier."

Dr. Maren nods as if that was the answer she wanted to hear. "Oh, and…" Nowhere it comes. "...you _will_ be staying on with us after the end of this week, right? If not, I'll need to go ahead and cancel the order for your nametag."

"I get a nametag?! Uh, I-I mean of course I'm staying on! I like working here! And any excuse to keep s-uh, keep getting free coffee is a plus." That was an awful correction, but way better than saying that she'd take any excuse to keep seeing her.

Not sensing the screw-up, hopefully, Dr. Maren replies, "Okay, then I'll make sure that order goes through and that we schedule you for next month. Sounds good?"

"Sounds perfect."

"Perfect," she repeats. "Well, that's all I had for you. You're free to go, I'm sure Elsa can't wait for you to get home."

"And I can't wait to see her." Anna stood up, this time her internal screaming was for her excitement in "getting away with her screw-up". And for having a successful conversation with the prettiest vet in the world. "Thanks, Dr. Maren. I'll see you tomorrow."

She walked back to the door, eager to go home and pick up Elsa (after she peed) to tell her the good news.

"Oh, one more thing."

Anna turned around and said, "Yes?"

The smile on Dr. Maren's face turned into a knowing smirk. "Make sure your alarm is on this time," she said with a wink.


	10. Chapter 10

**W** hen Elsa stands up on her hind legs to look out the window, Anna finally realizes just how much she's grown.

When did that happen?

She'd known the puppy for about a month, and she still remembers the first day she saw the tiny thing cowering in an alleyway. Now she was almost as long as Anna's forearm, and could stand to look out her window with no trouble.

And yes, her window was lower to the ground than most, but there was no denying that her little girl was growing up right before her very eyes.

In the next few months, she'd get bigger and taller, have more energy, chew up more of her shoes. It was going to be another learning experience for the both of them, but that was still a little ways off.

Right now, Anna was more focused on the present.

"What is it, girlie?" She said. "Did you see one of your people? Er...puppies?"

At the sound of her owner's voice, Elsa raced from the living room to the kitchen, pawing at Anna's knees. She liked to imagine that Elsa was telling her everything she experienced during the twenty minutes she was taking a shower. She assumed it was a lot of sniffing around and tearing up Jorgenbjorgen.

The puppy's new tag shimmered around her neck, as if to congratulate Anna and say that Elsa was officially hers. The blue pendant stuck out amidst the snow-white fur and jingled with every one of her tiny steps. Anna wondered what Dr. Maren would think about it.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait too long because Elsa had an appointment today.

Anna walked to her closet and pulled out Elsa's leash, "Hey, what do you say we go see Dr. Maren today? Does that sound fun?"

Elsa stood patiently, tilting her head at the leash in her owner's hand.

"I'm sure she's gonna be so happy to see you a- hey, where are you going?!"

The puppy raced down the hallway, slipping and bumping into the wall before disappearing somewhere into her room.

* * *

It took maybe five minutes of hearing Elsa whimper and howl in her car for Anna to realize that maybe she wasn't that excited to go back to the shelter. Which, the longer that she thought about it, the more it made sense.

The last time Elsa was there, Anna abandoned her for three days and they stuck a thermometer up her butt. She was probably nervous that that would happen again. This theory was supported by Elsa trying to get on Anna's lap at every red light.

"No," Anna said sternly. "You have a whole seat to yourself. Stay there."

Elsa protested the order with more howling and scratching at the passenger side door, but at least she was staying in her own seat.

"Look, I'll give you a big, honking dog treat when we get back home, but right now we gotta do this first. Besides, don't you like Dr. Maren? _I_ like Dr. Maren...I mean, obviously." Hopefully not to the doctor, or else that would ruin her fifty-step plan to ask her out on a date. So far, she was on step seven: maintain direct eye contact for longer than five seconds.

At the next red light, Anna sighed and spoke to the still anxious Elsa, "Also please don't pee on the seat."

They were about ten minutes out from the shelter, maybe less if she hit all green lights the rest of the way. A minivan pulled up right next to her. Elsa howled at the family inside as if she was asking them to save her.

The kids in the van immediately took notice and began waving excitedly and pointing at Elsa, which in turn excited Elsa so much that she fell off the chair. Luckily, she was used to falling and bumbling around, so she picked herself up quickly to continue howling at the kids.

Anna made eye contact with the parents for a second and gave them an apologetic wave. "Sorry," she said even though her windows were up. "She gets really claustrophobic. Santa Claus, you know?"

The dad muttered the word "What", which proved that the parents couldn't hear her. Which was a relief, because that joke was awful.

"I said…" Anna continued without rolling down her window, against her better judgment of just not even trying to talk to them. Thankfully, a green light saved her from any further embarrassment. "Never mind," she said with one more wave before driving forward.

* * *

"It's so good to see you again," said Dr. Maren cheerfully.

Anna tucked her hair behind her air, "Likewise. It's been so long." See it was funny- in her mind- because she worked yesterday, so it _hadn't_ been so long since they'd seen each other.

The doctor scratched Elsa behind her ears and looked up at Anna, "Oh, I was actually talking to Elsa."

"Oh!" Anna looked away, "My bad."

"But it is good to see you again too, Anna," the doctor said assuredly. She only said it out of pity, but it still made her feel a little better. "How has she been? Any concerns at home? Anything you want me to pay extra attention to?"

"No, I think she's doing okay. I mean yeah, she's great. She did bite me the other day though, and it hurt a little bit."

Dr. Maren snapped her head up, ceasing her ear-scratching, "Did she break the skin?"

Anna's eyes widened, "N-no! No, she- uh, it wasn't too bad and there's no scar and it didn't bleed or anything. It just hurt more than her usual bites."

"Usual bites?"

"Well okay, they're not bites _per se_ , they're more like nibbling."

"Nibbling."

"Yeah, you know like just playfully resting her teeth on my fingers. Repeatedly."

Dr. Maren looked at her like she had an ear growing out of her forehead, before finally the redhead's aimless rambling clicked. "Oooooh okay, I know what you mean. Well puppies, especially the more energetic breeds, do tend to bite fingers and toes in a playful manner. It's possible that she miscalculated the strength of one of her playful bites. Keep an eye on that behavior, okay? If the stronger bites become more commonplace, it'll be your job to correct that behavior."

Anna was so awestruck by the way the doctor spoke with such authority and knowledge, that she almost forgot that she was a college graduate too and also knew big words. And that she was supposed to reply. "Uh right. Right, yeah I'll make sure to keep an eye on her behavior and then, you know, behave accordingly."

Anna heard the assistant snicker.

The rest of the first half of the appointment went well and without any more of her intervention. It was reassuring to hear that Elsa looked good and that her cuts and teeth were healing up nicely. The good news made her feel like a good owner. And, of course, Elsa still didn't care for the butt thermometer.

"You're doing an amazing job, Elsa. I love your new nametag," Dr. Maren cooed, and Anna felt a swell of pride in her chest from hearing that. And also a slight loss of breath from hearing the doctor say that in a soft, low voice.

"Thank you," she said without thinking.

But this time, surprisingly, Dr. Maren laughed. It was short and sweet, and barely noticeable (sorta like Anna), but it happened. And there were three other witnesses here to testify. Even if one of them was a dog.

Anna made Dr. Maren laugh, which wasn't supposed to happen until step thirty-nine.

"Okay, we're going to take Elsa in the back now so she can get her shot. There's only one this time instead of three," the doctor explained. "I know that you've seen other dogs get shots before, and you know what this place looks inside and out, but unfortunately only employees are allowed inside. And you're not on the clock."

Anna looked at Elsa. Her ears were droopy and even though she looked calm, Anna could sense that she was afraid of getting pricked again. She sighed, "Yeah, I know," she said with a sigh before walking up to her puppy. "Don't worry girlie, I'll be right here when you're done."

Elsa licked Anna's open palm, and then gave her finger a gentle nibble before being whisked away.

* * *

A few minutes later, the hard part was over and Elsa was back in Anna's arms, thankful that there was someone in this room without a needle.

"Same thing as last time, she'll be a little tired for a few hours," Dr. Maren said- without her assistant- while printing out some papers for her to sign. "And if she has any sort of reaction to the vaccine, make sure to call us. Or, you know, tell me when you come into work tomorrow."

"Can do," Anna replied, stroking the top of Elsa's head.

"And then the next round will include her rabies vaccine, after that she'll have all of her puppy shots done with."

"I can start taking her on walks after that, right?"

Dr. Maren nodded and placed the papers on the metal desk, "I'm sure Elsa can't wait for that."

Anna couldn't wait either, she was so excited to show Elsa the whole world again. And to let her know that it was safe to be outside now, as long as she stayed with her. She signed the papers with a smile, the husky stayed on the bench exhausted before Anna picked her back up again.

The doctor took the papers and gave Anna a paper bag, "That's her heartworm medication. Very important stuff, this has to be taken at the same time every month."

"Gotcha," Anna took the bag with her free hand, almost dropping it somehow. "Thanks again for doing this, Dr. Maren."

She shrugged, "It's my job, Anna. Speaking of which, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning, right?"

"Eeyup, I have two alarms set and everything."

Dr. Maren smiled, melting Anna's heart in the process. Gosh, she could look into those hazel eyes forever. Wait, how long had she kept eye contact for? One, two, three….oh crap. "I'm glad. Then I'll see you tomorrow," she said, oblivious to the redhead's inner turmoil.

But it was a good turmoil. "Yeah, see ya," Anna replied meekly before disappearing out the door.

Six seconds, she was able to maintain eye contact with Dr. Maren for six seconds. Elsa licked her arm as if to say she was proud of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates, I was busy playing Fire Emblem.
> 
> Kidding, I'm never sorry.


	11. Chapter 11

**T** oday was the day.

Today was _finally_ the day.

Today was the first official day that Elsa could go out for a walk.

Anna was beyond excited, it was agony to wait. The past few weeks waiting for her puppy to get all the necessary shots couldn't have gone by any slower. But she didn't have to wait any longer, and in a fun coincidence, she had the day off too.

Elsa followed her into her room after breakfast, sensing the very obvious excitement on her owner's face.

"Today's the day, Elsa," Anna said gleefully. "I'm taking you out on your first official, legal walk! Okay maybe not _legal_ , I don't think you can arrest a puppy for walking, but you know what I mean? Right?"

Elsa pranced around in her closet, oblivious to the question.

Anna grabbed the harness from the top shelf. Per Dr. Maren's advice, she put it on Elsa before to make sure it fits and that she'd be comfortable with it. And then walked her around her apartment, which was more fun than she thought it'd be.

The husky, meanwhile, was apprehensive about being wrapped with nylon straps. And it took her a minute to realize that she was still technically free to move and walk around. Even now, she eyed the harness as if it was a comb threatening to munch at her fur again.

But with Anna's soft reassurance, she allowed herself to be harnessed and off they went to the front door.

Anna grabbed her needlessly heavy drawstring bag and put it on. "I sure hope I'm not forgetting anything," she said. Everything was packed the night before, and she'd checked and double-checked her list. There was a whole roll of poop bags, two water bottles, Elsa's water bowl, dog treats, and a tennis ball just in case Elsa got bored. Yeah no, she was definitely prepared.

"You ready, girlie?" Anna asked. She looked down at her feet but Elsa wasn't there. The leash, however, acted as a breadcrumb trail that led her to the couch, where Elsa was stubbornly sitting.

That was odd, Elsa was energetic and yippy before, why was she...oh.

It's because every time they went outside, Anna would take her to the shelter.

Anna sighed, "We're not gonna see Dr. Maren today, Elsa." Sadly. "We're just gonna go for a walk! That's all."

Elsa didn't budge, she eyed her owner carefully.

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

Still, she didn't budge.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'm carrying you."

She sneezed as her owner picked her up.

With a finger boop to her nose, Anna remarked, "And I will absolutely say that I told you so when you end up having fun."

* * *

The first thing Elsa did- after pawing and sniffing at the front door- was go straight for the grass and pee. Which Anna should have expected, of course. She also should have expected that Elsa wouldn't even think about going down the path that lead to the car.

But regardless, it was fascinating and vindicating to see Elsa take that first step, and then the second, and then the third. Anna thought she'd be more apprehensive about going back outside after spending so long being a stray, but that wasn't the case. Maybe having shelter and some well-needed care helped to normalize the world again for her.

Maybe being happy and healthy made Elsa feel like she could be a normal dog.

Or maybe Anna was just projecting, and Elsa missed the outside world more than she thought.

They walked around Anna's apartment complex, which was mostly asphalt and three-story buildings. But again there was no complaining on the puppy's part. She scurried around on her tiny paws and sniffed everything, some areas more than others.

To be honest, Anna expected more prancing and yelping, more excited behavior in general. Like she was a princess stuck in a tower for so long and was smelling the grass and dirt, just like she dreamed they'd be. But, again, Elsa was most likely accustomed to these kinds of areas, and so walking was just another...thing for her.

With the added benefit of a harness and leash to know that she wasn't alone this time. Not anymore.

Which was good, because if Anna wasn't with her, she'd probably eat every leaf and bit of trash in sight. Anna tugged on her leash gently and made a noise, "Stop trying to eat candy wrappers, oh my gosh." Elsa tugged back on the leash in protest to sniff at the bits of peanut butter and chocolate. Which didn't work since she weighed as much as Anna's foot.

Her plan was to loop around the apartment complex, so that Elsa could get a good feel for her surroundings in case she got out (again). And on the southwest side was a decent-sized park that they could take a break at so she could give the puppy some water and treats for being such a good girl.

Most people kept to themselves here, so Anna wasn't surprised when there was no one else walking around too. The most social interaction during the walk was waving to people on the other side of the gate.

This didn't deter Elsa from being as social as possible, however. She sniffed at every door, tugged at the leash when she saw anyone being the gate, and paused at random moments whenever she heard a bird. If there were any children around, she'd probably jump on them.

Well, that theory wasn't about to be tested anytime soon since there was no one at the park either.

"Oh thank goodness," Anna said to herself, she wasn't ready to talk to children right now. They kinda freaked her out.

Elsa was excited to see bigger patches of grass and a big, colorful, metal contraption and she paced towards the park. "I knew you'd like this place," Anna said proudly. "You wanna go on the swings? I'm joking, obviously, that'd...shoot, that'd be adorable."

They walked to one of the benches. "Come here, girlie. Let's take a break." As Elsa inspected the ins and outs of an unremarkable wooden bench, Anna took out her water bowl and dog treats. She poured water into the bowl and placed it down, and the husky ceased her curiosity to drink it all.

Or at least half of it. Maybe she underestimated how parched the puppy would be. After all, they'd only been walking for like fifteen minutes.

...maybe she overpacked.

She made a mental note to ask Dr. Maren for more advice on puppy walks. That would replace step eight, which was going to be catching the doctor's gaze and smiling at her. Which, thinking about it now, would have been too bold of a move.

Anna gave one of the treats to Elsa and sighed, "I hope you're better around people than me. I wouldn't blame you if you weren't, though. People are kinda scary."

Elsa licked up the scent of her treat from Anna's fingers, she pretended that the puppy agreed with her. There was a lot about Elsa's past that was a mystery to her, and might always be a mystery. Who knows how well she'd do when a total stranger was in front of her, someone who didn't have food or a stuffed animal for her to maul.

But hey, now was not the time to be broody and mope. This was a good day, a great day! She was outside and finally walking around with Elsa, a day she'd literally dreamed about for weeks. And from the lack of howling and stubborn sitting, it seemed like Elsa was enjoying it too.

They explored the park together, the swings tempted her once again. How cute would it be to see Elsa in one of the seats that looked like a diaper? But Anna ultimately decided against it when Elsa looked more interested in climbing up the playground.

So they did that instead. Elsa sniffed every bit of metal she could find, pulling away from the sides when she saw that there was no more floor to walk across. And when they got to the top, Anna had a different, possibly better idea.

"You wanna go down the slide?" she said mischievously.

Elsa tilted her head at her when she asked and sat at her feet, panting as if she'd just been told she was voted the world's number one puppy.

"I'll take that as a yes." Anna picked Elsa up and walked to the biggest slide at the end of the playground. She hadn't gone down one of these things since middle school, they used to feel so much higher.

With a hopefully excited husky in tow, Anna sat down- relieved that she was still slim enough to not get stuck- and pushed them down using her knees.

"Wheeeeee!" she said in a fake excitement that almost turned real. Slides were always her favorite part of the playground, her mom used to do this with her too back when their family was complete. And now she could do this with Elsa, assuming that she was having fun too.

They got to the bottom and Anna forgot to stop herself with her feet, which resulted in her landing on her butt, thankfully not hurting Elsa.

"Oww," she groaned. "Wasn't that fun, Elsa?"

Elsa licked her face and wriggled out of her arms, walking back to the stairs.

Anna stood up, still in slight pain from landing butt-first. "I told you so," she said with a smile.


	12. Chapter 12

" **H** ey stranger," Anna said to her obviously familiar puppy. "Were you attracted to the soothing sounds of your owner and her guitar?"

Elsa walked up to Anna and stood up on her hind legs, pawing at her bedsheets. She could reach the edge, but she still didn't have the strength to get up. Anna set her guitar down for a second to pick the puppy up so she could roam this still unfamiliar territory.

"Well I guess 'soothing' is a bit too braggy," Anna said as she placed her guitar back on her lap. "Did you listen to a lot of music back when you were on the streets?"

Elsa sniffed her blanket and tugged at the corner of it with her mouth. Perhaps she was offended by the fact that it smelled too much like her owner, which clearly meant that she'd have to fight it for her owner's attention. I Or...nope, she was just trying to eat it. Anna ruffled Elsa's fluffy white head and pulled a piece of her blanket over the puppy.

As Elsa crawled out of the blanket, Anna played the simple riff on her guitar that she'd been playing before. And then she started to sing again.

_I met you in the dark_

_You lit me up_

_You made me feel as though_

_I was enough_

It was this cute, cheesy love song that she learned as soon as she heard it on the radio.

_We danced the night away_

_We drank too much_

_I held your hair back when_

_You were throwing up_

It was one of those songs that you could play at a party or open mic and everyone would gather around because they knew it. Of course she didn't go to parties or open mics but it's the thought that counted. Minus the getting drunk and throwing up part, Anna resonated with the idea of love in the song. Of course she wanted that life with someone.

Preferably someone that loved Elsa as much as her. This was now on her list for the perfect woman.

But who _wouldn't_ love Elsa? Aside from, you know, the person that abandoned her. But they didn't count, they probably kicked babies for fun or something.

At the end of the chorus, Elsa walked over to Anna and sniffed at the base of her guitar. While Anna played the chord progression, Elsa just sat there licking the mahogany.

Anna giggled, "You wanna take this next verse, girlie?"

Being the curious creature that she was, Elsa stood up again and pawed at the guitar. Anna instinctively pulled it away and Elsa landed back on the bed with a quiet thud. "Hey! Careful, I just polished this."

Elsa yipped and ran in circles a few times in...protest? All Anna knew was that it was cute, just like everything the husky did.

"No pawing, only listening," Anna ordered before scratching Elsa between the ears. "Good girl."

With that settled, hopefully, Anna continued.

_I'll wake you up with some_

_Breakfast in bed_

_I'll bring you coffee with_

_A kiss on your head_

Also on her list for her dream girl was that they had to like these cheesy romantic cliches. She liked the breakfasts in bed, holding hands in the park, taking silly pictures in photo booths, and other silly basic couple things. She blames that on watching all the romantic comedies her parents had on DVD growing up.

As Anna settles into the song, Elsa gnaws at the end of her blanket. And maybe she's listening too.

_I'm so in love with you_

_I hope you know_

_Darling your love is more than_

_Worth its weight in gold_

Do dogs dream about love? Well, if they did, then they probably don't dream about it in the same way that humans do? What does Elsa dream about, she wonders. She only knows of the memories that the husky's made under her care, who knows what she saw on the streets.

Do dogs have nightmares? If they do, have Elsa's gone down now that she's safe and taken care of? As the puppy continues to mess with her blanket, Anna wants to believe that all of Elsa's dreams are good. Maybe not about love, but hopefully she dreams about snowy fields and big, juicy steaks.

And what about Anna? What does she dream about?

_I wanna live you_

_Even when we're ghosts_

' _Cause you were always there for me when_

_I needed you most_

Well...she dreams about a lot of things. She dreams about being back in school, about when she was a kid playing with Kristoff on the playground, about walking up on stage to receive her diploma, about her first kiss. Okay, so they're mostly memories and not dreams, but to describe her actual dreams would feel...well, they're embarrassing.

Because she dreams about love, it's always about love. About being in love with someone, and having them be completely and genuinely in love with her. About the first meeting, the first kiss, the first confession, the first fight, the first day of marriage, everything like that. It's always about love- well, that and the weird recurring dream of her being kissed by a troll.

But she doesn't tell anyone about that.

Elsa's the closest thing that Anna has to the kind of love she wants, she didn't even get to that level with her ex-girlfriend. She can never ask and get a response from Elsa, but she hopes that the puppy loves her just as much. Every day that passes, she's more and more grateful for finding her almost...wow, almost two months ago.

She cherishes every day with Elsa. But, for obvious and ethical reasons, she can't date her dog. Right now, the only _person_ that could even be close to fulfilling this dream with Anna is, well, Dr. Maren.

The same Dr. Maren who she now works for, and who barely knows that she exists. Of course they see each other every day that Anna's working, and she's finally worked up the courage to do step thirteen and ask if the doctor wanted her to bring her coffee every morning, but there's no way this redheaded awkward mess of a human being is anywhere near her radar. And besides, she still has no idea if Dr. Maren likes girls or not. It's a silly, pathetic crush on a woman way out of her league, but for some reason Anna can't shake it.

_Just say you won't let go_

_Oh just say you won't let go_

Anna let the last note ring out, and then turned to look back at Elsa who was laying on her side. "Did you like it?" she asked.

Elsa looked at her, wide-eyed and straight-faced as if she'd somehow caught her off-guard. She sat up, walking to her owner panting like she'd just said she was getting a treat.

Anna giggled and stood up, gently laying her guitar on her bed. Maybe in the long run, if she kept giving Elsa treats after playing the guitar, she'd associate the instrument as a calming tool. Elsa followed her into the kitchen.

"You know I just fed you dinner, right?"

Elsa beat her to the kitchen, sniffing at the drawer where the treats were. Anna opened it and pulled out a tiny biscuit.

"Sit," she commanded.

After a couple of seconds, Elsa sat on her hind legs, looking at her hand expectantly.

Anna smiled, the basic training was working. She placed the treat on the floor and pet the puppy. "Good girl!"

Elsa gobbled it up in a second and walked to her water bowl. And then Anna thought...screw it. She sat on the kitchen floor as Elsa lapped up water like a man fresh out of the desert, and said, "Hey Elsa, what do you think of Dr. Maren?"

Elsa responded by drinking more water.

"You like her, right? Aside from the whole butt thermometer thing, I mean. I'm asking because, well, _I_ like her."

Elsa's ears perk up, did she understand her? No, she probably just heard someone outside. Regardless, she walks over to Anna and rests along her foot.

Anna stroked her back and smiled, "Do you think- wow, I can't believe I'm gonna ask this- do you think she'd like me too? Like if I asked her out, do you think she'd say yes?"

Elsa nuzzled onto her foot even more.

"Hmm...should I know what that means?" Anna scoffed, "Of course you don't know what that means, Anna. You're trying to get dating advice from a dog."

Still, it wasn't like she could ask anyone else. Except for Kristoff, but he wasn't exactly a love expert. He didn't start dating his wife until she made it blatantly clear she was interested in him. She didn't have any girl friends to talk to either, and the last thing she wanted to do was talk to her ex.

So, Elsa was her only choice.

"What about it? Do I ask her out? Or do I just let this go?"

Elsa let out a puff of air through her nose.

Anna frowned, "Right. There's probably some rule against dating your boss. But...I at least have to ask, right? If she says no, then I can move on. And hopefully not get fired. Gosh, this is so stupid and crazy. But...but I've done crazier things. Like adopting you! That was crazy, but look how _that_ turned out."

Then again, adopting a stray puppy and asking out your boss are two entirely different kinds of crazy. Still, it felt like ever since she met Elsa her luck was changing.

Maybe it would go just fine. Worst case scenario, Dr. Maren would just let her down gently.

Hopefully.

No, definitely.

"Yeah, screw the plan," Anna said, scratching Elsa behind the ears again. "I'm gonna do it. Tomorrow. I'm gonna ask Dr. Maren out tomorrow."

When Elsa nibbles on her toe, she takes that as a sign that the husky is on board with the plan. "Thanks girlie," Anna said, "I knew I could count on you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: By the way, the song is "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur.


	13. Chapter 13

" **I** t's gonna be fine. You've _got_ this, Muenster." Anna closed her eyes and did an upper-body shimmie, trying to literally shake off her nerves. She looked at herself in the newly-cleaned bathroom mirror (her doing), checking to see if her hair looked gross or if she was bleeding.

This wasn't the first time she'd asked a girl out before, admittedly her track record was abysmal but at least she tried. She figured dating success was one of those things where she'd have to wade through a bunch of rejections before it finally evened out and she got the "yes" that mattered.

And maybe Dr. Maren was going to be that yes.

Dr. Maren...the woman with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine who knows more about everything than Anna knows about cleaning a toilet. The woman who also just happens to sign her paychecks. The woman who she almost tripped last week with her mop.

Okay, so it'd take a miracle for Dr. Maren to say yes, but she had to try, right? She promised herself and technically Elsa that she'd ask. And with an hour left in her shift, Anna didn't have much longer to do so. This had to be a face-to-face thing, she reasoned, mostly because she was also too much of a wuss to ask for her number.

She wiped her hands with paper towels she newly restocked and took one last glance at the mirror. "You've got this," she repeated.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and from the outside of Anna's safe haven appeared the one woman she wanted to see the most. Just...not right now.

Dr. Maren stopped in her tracks, wide-eyed, "Oh! Sorry Anna, I didn't know you were cleaning in here."

Anna turned around and replied in a voice that was way too high-pitched, "Hi!" She cleared her throat and tried again, "U-uh yeah, I...I just finished. Cleaning! I mean I just finished cleaning, I didn't do anything in here. Just, you know, cleaned."

This was already going against the plan, well it would have if Anna had a plan in the first place. If she did, though, the plan surely wouldn't have ended up with her asking Dr. Maren out in the women's restroom.

"Okay, well great job as always," Dr. Maren replied. "I only came here to wash my hands anyway, I just ate a cupcake." Ah, so she likes cupcakes. That's good to know. "I don't want to get frosting all over my paperwork, you know?"

She walked past Anna, who got a quick and not-creepy whiff of her strawberry-scented shampoo, and washed her hands. Anna stepped back to her cart so as to give the doctor more than enough space at the sink, and pretended to be checking through her supplies. To be honest, she probably could have just left, but she wanted to milk this interaction for as long as she could.

Amidst the sounds of rushing water, the doctor asked, "So how are you?"

"Ah you know, just...doing my thing."

She giggled, "Your thing? What does that mean?"

Yeah Anna, what _does_ that mean? "Like cleaning, and eating, taking care of Elsa. That's my thing."

"Your thing consists of three responsibilities." That sounded like it was supposed to be a question, but it felt more like a statement. Dr. Maren turned off the faucet and grabbed a couple of the freshly-stocked paper towels. "Well at least you're keeping busy. What else do you do when you're not at work?"

Anna's eyes widened. This (probably) rich, successful, and beautiful veterinarian just asked _her,_ a simple commoner, what she did outside of work. She was interested, or maybe she was just asking an innocent question. Probably the latter, but Anna was a big dreamer. She opened her mouth to speak, and was shocked when no words came out.

She couldn't remember anything that she did.

Time came to a screeching halt. If there was a camera looking inside her brain, all you would see were tinier versions of her running in panic inside a burning office, with half of them trying to put out the fire and another half trying to break windows in order to get out. And all it would take to calm things down was if one of those mini-Annas would just turn the sprinklers on.

What did she do outside of work?

She already said cleaning and eating, did she mention Elsa? Oh yeah, of course she did. She would talk to _anyone_ about Elsa. What else did she _do_?!

Think Anna, think. You're a person with interests, you do things. But what kind of things? What would even sound interesting to a doctor? Doing math blindfolded? She couldn't even do math with a _calculator._

Wait, Anna had a degree in Elementary Education. She could talk about...uh...making lesson plans? Gosh, she was hopeless.

And then, finally, one of the also hopeless mini-Annas turned on the sprinklers and she was able to think again. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Guitar! I, uh I-I mean I play the guitar."

That piqued the doctor's interest. And successfully piquing Dr. Maren's interest was now tied with graduating as her greatest accomplishment.

"Wow. You play the guitar?" She asked.

Anna laughed, or at least it sounded like a laugh in her ears. "Why do you sound so surprised?" Oh dear, that sounded too rude. She needed to apologize before she got fired, or worse: Dr. Maren stopped talking to her. "Uh I mean-"

She shrugged, "No, I'm not surprised. Well I mean I am, but that's cause I wasn't expecting it."

"What were you expecting me to say?" Anna felt the office fires in her brain threatening to start up again. She needed to stop interrogating her boss. Her drop-dead gorgeous boss who just giggled to herself and oh my goodness it sounded like rainbows and sunshine.

"To be honest, I thought you were gonna say something like baking. You strike me as a baker, I don't know."

"Ha!" Anna shrieked, even though she was going for a playful exclamation. "Yeah you don't want me anywhere near an oven, trust me. One time I was baking cookies and I forgot to put baking soda, and they came out looking like CD's."

Dr. Maren laughed again, this time _at_ her. Or, rather, at what she said. If she was laughing at her, Anna would probably shrink away and never talk to her again.

Suddenly, Anna's struck with the realization that they're having an actual conversation together. It was in a dank and poorly-lit restroom, but beggars can't be choosers. This was the longest she'd talked to Dr. Maren outside of appointments with Elsa and her "interview" to get the job. And this was all completely by accident. The good news, she figured, was that they could talk to each other. And communication was key in any relationship.

Anna's also struck with the realization that, despite the location, she was gifted with enough free time to ask Dr. Maren out. Before either of them had to go back to work, or before they were interrupted by someone who had to do their business.

And that starts a fire in Anna again, but this time in her heart. A fire that made it beat faster and raised her temperature by fifty degrees. Which doesn't make sense, but when has romance ever made sense?

"Well when you have the time, you should tell me more about playing guitar. I'm interested." Dr. Maren gave her a polite smile and walked to the door. Time was running out, she needed to say something. Anything. Preferably words about asking her out.

She had to do it. For her, and for Elsa. She wanted to go home with good news to tell her best friend. Even though all the husky would care about was getting her lunch.

Anna closed her eyes for a second and cleared her throat. "Uh, w-well if you want, we could-"

Dr. Maren was gone.

The bathroom door closed fully and maybe even metaphorically, mocking her for taking too long.

* * *

Anna stuffed another spoonful of cereal into her mouth, chewing it with probably a bit too much force. It tasted like regret, sugary pieces of grain, marshmallows, and regret.

Elsa, right next to her, dug her nose and mouth into her bowl full of dog food. Which probably _wasn't_ made of sugary pieces of grain, marshmallows, and regret.

The husky finishes her food way before Anna did, who gave up on eating halfway through and pushed her bowl away. She groaned and lay her head on the table. After the puppy drank her water and peed on her pad, she walked back to her owner and stared up at her curiously.

Elsa yipped curiously.

"Don't rub it in," Anna replied, pointing a finger at her. "Asking people out is hard."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello hello. I made a Spotify playlist for this fic too, inspired by songs that remind me of the story and songs I've been listening to while writing it. If you wanna have a listen, the link is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1A7mM9PRnKmiylefW6Jj4u?si=W01A55EcQqGgnwcZ8e_57Q
> 
> Have a good weekend, y'all. Stay strong, even when it feels like this dreary situation seems like it's gonna last forever. It's not.

**I** t had been a while since Anna had visited Kristoff, usually it was the other way around. In the past, she was always busy with college, and before that, they lived together anyway. Today, she wanted to enjoy a change in scenery.

Plus, after talking Elsa up to them, Kristoff's family wanted to meet the puppy too.

Anna smiled as she watched Elsa jump at and run around Kristoff's twin boys. Of course internally she was worried that they might hurt her or that she'd hurt them. But she had to have faith that her puppy was well-enough trained. She hadn't bitten Anna as badly since that other day, and she'd restricted her thrashing and chewing to just the remains of Jorgenbjorgen. Another stuffed penguin was on her shopping list.

"They seem to be getting along pretty well," Kristoff said as he sat next to her on the kitchen table.

"You think so?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, I mean I had a talk with them before you two got here about not treating Elsa like a toy." He sighed and leaned into his chair, arms folded across his chest. "I just hope it sticks."

"Thanks for doing that," Anna couldn't keep her eyes off them, still weary but not about the twins. "Elsa's...not used to being around people much."

"Don't you take her on walks?"

"I do, but you know where I live doesn't have a lot of kids. Or other dogs," Anna explained.

"Maybe try finding a dog park?"

"Yeah...maybe." Anna fidgeted with the cap of her water bottle, continuing to watch Elsa prance around and in between the childrens' legs. She also tries hopping on the couch but she's not tall or strong enough yet to do that, so she keeps landing paws first on the cushions.

Anna feels Kristoff's hand on her shoulder, she turns to her brother who has a sympathetic smile on his face. "Hey, you're doing a great job taking care of Elsa. Don't psych yourself out too much."

Wow, it was crazy to think just a couple of months ago he was against her having a puppy. It was nice to hear support from her brother who'd supported her all her life, but that wasn't why she was so "psyched out". A day later, and she was still kicking herself for what she was now calling the "Bathroom Incident", a.k.a. the embarrassing display of embarrassment with Dr. Maren.

She patted Kristoff's hand and smiled, "Thanks. That means a lot."

Kristoff, however, seemed unconvinced that she was now okay. His eyes narrowed, he looked puzzled.

"What is it?" Anna said wearily.

"Something else is up," Kristoff replied.

Oh wow, he caught on _so_ fast. She tried to straighten her face up to look neutral, and when that wasn't working she just looked back at Elsa, who was now trying to eat one of the boys' shoelaces. She had to get Kristoff off her trail, "I don't know what you're talking about."

She already failed.

"Oh come on, you tell me everything!" He protested, "What's up? What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on," she lied, feeling the growing redness on her cheeks. The boys and Elsa had moved to the backyard, once she got a glimpse of the grass and open door, the husky bolted outside immediately.

"I highly doubt that- oooooh, I get it."

Anna snapped her gaze back onto Kristoff in the most obvious admission of guilt ever. "Get what?"

Kristoff smirked, "You've got girl problems."

"No I don't!" Anna protested, making it very clear that she does.

"Aww I should have known," Kristoff teased. "You're doing that thing with your hands."

Anna clenched her water bottle tight, "What thing?"

"The whole finger-tapping thing, you only do that when you're nervous, or if you've got someone on your mind." Kristoff leaned towards Anna and propped his head on his knuckles. "So, who's the girl?"

Before she could answer, Kristoff yelped as his wife flicked him on his ear.

"Stop teasing Anna," Belle said in a kind yet demanding voice as she sat across from her husband.

The gorgeous librarian was wearing her chestnut-colored hair down today. Loose strands spread about showed that she was rejoicing in her day off as well and didn't feel like making herself up too much today. She had a half-full tea mug in her hands that said "HIS" with an arrow pointing towards Kristoff, it was part of a two-mug set Anna got them for Christmas last year.

"Oh come on, that's the big brother's job!" Kristoff protested, rubbing his ear with his fingers.

"Not right now it isn't," Belle replied. "If Anna doesn't wanna talk about something, then she doesn't have to."

Anna smiled with relief, "Thanks, Belle."

Kristoff huffed, "Well, either way, this is exciting news. You haven't had feelings for a girl since...what's-her-face." This was his go-to nickname for all of Anna's exes...all two of them.

"He's got a point," Anna said, resuming her finger-tapping. "I'm just having trouble asking her out, that's all. I keep chickening out or getting interrupted. Last week, I was thinking about asking her in the break room, but my supervisor was there too and she kinda scares me." She's convinced that Yelena still hasn't forgiven her for being late that one time, even though it's never happened again, _and_ Anna brought her a muffin the day after.

Kristoff's eyes light up and his eyebrow raises, "Oh, so it's a girl from work. Interesting…"

"Kris…" Belle said forebodingly.

Her brother put her hands up, feigning innocence, "Hey, I didn't ask anything."

Anna sighed, "Belle, it's fine. I think I need to talk to someone about this anyway. Besides Elsa, I mean."

Belle nodded sympathetically. Kristoff remarked, "You talk to your dog about your love life?" Anna ignored him and continued.

"Yeah, it's a girl from work. She's...great, and nice, and smart, and really cute. She has these beautiful eyes that remind me of, like, a bird. But a really pretty bird." Was that last one even a compliment? Birds can be pretty, right? She didn't want to _date_ a bird, but-

"What's her name?" Belle asked, doing the same "resting her head on her knuckles" thing that Kristoff was doing earlier.

Oh, this was gonna be embarrassing.

"I don't...actually know her first name." She looked down at the cap of her water bottle, running her thumb along the ridges. "I just call her Dr. Maren."

"You're crushing on one of the vets?!" Kristoff exclaimed.

"Awww!" Belle replied in her sing-songy voice.

Anna felt her face warm up, her cheeks must have been redder than the lipstick she wore to prom. "It's not a big deal, okay? I just...the words get stuck in my head." She thought it was best if they didn't know that Dr. Maren was also kind of her boss. "Maybe it's because she's a super-successful veterinarian and I just...clean toilets. It's intimidating being around her, I guess."

Belle cooed and reached a hand across the table towards Anna, "You have _nothing_ to be intimidated about. At the end of the day, you're both just humans with your own strengths and weaknesses." Anna reached over and placed her hand on her sister-in-law's, smiling gratefully.

"Yeah, don't sell yourself short, sis. You're dedicated, smart, and tougher than you give yourself credit for," Kristoff said. "Any girl would be lucky to have you, doctor or not. And if Dr. Maren doesn't feel the same way, it's her loss."

Belle giggled and looked at her husband, "Remember the first time I said that I loved you?"

Kristoff groaned, and before he buried his face into his hands, Anna saw his cheeks start to get red too. "Oh god, don't tell her about _that_!"

Obviously curious, Anna said, "Tell me about what?"

Eager to confess for the both of them, Belle leaned forward, "Nine months after we'd started dating, Kris and I were walking around the garden of our campus' library. I knew that night I was going to say it, but I was freaking myself out. Finally, we're on like our third go-around, and I just blurt it out while he's mid-sentence."

Anna couldn't help herself and let out her own "Awww!"

Belle smiled, but her eyes went wide, "Yeah, it was cute. But you know what this big oaf said?"

Kristoff groaned again, much louder and exaggerated this time. This, of course, did not deter his wife.

"He said: ' _Are you sure?_ '"

Anna gasped, "Kristoff!"

"Okay, in _my_ defense," he interjected, looking straight at his sister, "She was mad at me like the day before, so it kinda came out of left field."

"You always make me mad, dummy, but that doesn't mean I don't love you!"

Anna shook her head, greatly amused and feeling a little better after hearing her older brother's own relationship experience. These two felt so opposite at times, and yet looking at them you'd believe that they'd been together almost their whole lives. Anna wanted that, she really did.

The sliding glass door opened, and two hyperactive children and an even more active puppy came running into the kitchen. "Mommy!" the kids said as they hugged each of Belle's arms. Anna finally noticed that the boys had gotten taller since she last visited.

Elsa, meanwhile, pounced at her thigh as if she was trying to hug her too. Her paws had bits of grass on them, and she panted with glee as Anna scratched behind her ears. She seemed to be doing just fine interacting with other people, maybe the case would be the same with other dogs.

"Did you see Auntie Anna's puppy yet?" asked Adam, the older twin by ten minutes. His overalls were caked with dirt and there were blades of grass in his messy, brown hair.

Belle picked one of the blades of grass out of his hair. "Not yet, you guys have been hogging her all day!" she said playfully.

"All day? But they've only been here for one hour!" replied Johnathan, the "younger" twin with darkish blond hair and in his own pair of just-as-dirty overalls.

"Well, how about you two get cleaned up so we can go to the park? And I can have a talk with Elsa about protecting your Aunt Anna." Belle looked at Anna momentarily and smiled at her as if to ask if that was okay.

Anna nodded, she knew that there was a nice, little park about five minutes from Kristoff's house. And Elsa loved walking, and sniffing at everything, and peeing on everything.

So this would be a great adventure.

The twins disappeared down the hallway, shouting something about getting cleaned faster than the other. Belle looked at the dirt on her arms and grimaced, "Ugh, and I was gonna wear this shirt too. At least you don't have to worry about this kind of stuff yet."

"Eh, I probably will soon," Anna replied, still scratching Elsa's head. "She's getting bigger every day."

"Hey, at least _we_ don't have to worry about the boys peeing on the carpet," Kristoff remarked to his wife, reminiscing on the first day he met Elsa.

Belle rolled her eyes, "Not anymore."

Kristoff stood up and kissed the top of Belle's head, "I'll help the boys get ready, okay?"

Belle smiled, genuinely gleeful at the small showing of affection, "Okay. I love you."

"I love you too." Before Kristoff disappeared down the hallway himself, he said to Anna, "Now picture that, but it's you and your doctor crush."

Anna pouted, he always had to get the last word in. Some time when she wasn't looking, Elsa had gone to the kitchen to take a drink from the water bowl she'd brought along. Anna grabbed her harness so that she could put it on the puppy before they went to the park.

"Hey," Belle said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Anna turned to look at her, she looked both serious and yet calming, "Yeah?"

"Don't be afraid to ask out Dr. Maren. If she's got half the brain that you think she does, then she'll say yes. And if she doesn't, well then you can come by anytime and we can talk crap about her until you feel better."

Anna chuckled, "I wouldn't do that."

"I know you wouldn't, because you won't have to. She'll say yes, trust me."

Elsa found her way back to the dining room table, and when she saw the harness in her owner's hand, she sat obediently with her tongue out.

Anna's eyes lit up the same way that Elsa's did, "Hey girlie! I'll be with you in a second, okay?" She turned back to Belle, "Thank you, that means a lot."

Belle patted her shoulder, "No problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get this dirt off."

Momentarily alone, Anna knelt down to Elsa's level and turned her around so she can put the harness on. Belle and Kristoff were right, she was stressing herself out too much about this. Boss or not, Dr. Maren was just another girl that she had a monumental crush on. On Monday, she'd ask her. For real this time.

But for now, she was going to take Elsa to the park and enjoy the day with her big brother's family.


	15. Chapter 15

**B** ottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, down by two with less than a minute on the clock, the final shot in a shootout, what do these all have in common? Neither of them are even remotely as stressful as asking out someone who's way out of your league.

Or at least, that's how it feels like for Anna, who sucked at every sport known to man.

There she went, psyching herself out again before she could even step out of the break room. Her shift was over, it went just fine aside from having to see a cat almost eat an injured baby bird, and now there was nothing stopping her from leaving. Except for the obvious.

If she didn't ask Dr. Maren out today, she'd seriously regret it. And she also wanted to go home to Elsa with good news. The last time she came home with good news was when someone brought tamales at work for everyone. Man, that was a fun day.

And, of course, she'd be doing this for herself. For gosh sake she was dumped through _text_ , she needed a win in the romance column. And just _asking_ Dr. Maren would be a win.

She drank one last cup of ice-cold water, hoping it would freeze her anxiousness long enough to do this, and tossed the styrofoam into the recently-emptied trash can. The water wore off pretty much immediately, in fact it only reminded her that she was kind of hungry. Nonetheless, Anna moved her feet forward. She took a step, stepped again, and again and again until she was out of the breakroom and walking down the hallway.

Gosh, how many times did she walk up and down this same hallway already? It had to be at least like fifty times.

She passed the poster about proper hygiene tips, smiled at the before-and-after pictures of a puppy that was taken off the streets and taken care of until she was adopted, and frowned at the discoloring of one of the tiles from a stain that was never cleaned properly. During her first week, she was told by one of the older janitors that cleaning it was pointless, so she never did.

And then she made it, the wooden door with Dr. Maren's name written on a stainless steel plaque. It was open, she saw that before she cleared the hallway. Anna stopped herself before she could be seen through the glass gap between the wall and door, causing the assistant behind her to almost crash into her.

"Sorry," Anna said as he kept walking, she had no idea there _was_ anyone behind her.

Moment of truth time...again. Was she ready? Of course not. Did she have to do this anyway? Of course. She ran through the words she wanted to say one more time in her head, and any responses that Dr. Maren might give her. She wanted to be one hundred percent prepared for every outcome.

Even the bad ones, especially the bad ones.

"Come on, Muenster. We can do this," she said after a quick and heavy breath. Compelling her feet to take her through that last bit of distance, she poked her head into the doctor's office.

Dr. Maren was looking over something intently on her monitor and chewing on the end of a pen. Her long, brown hair rested comfortably in a loose braid along her back, and Anna lewdly wished she could be the stethoscope hung around her neck. There was no one else inside, sweet.

Sensing a presence in her peripheral vision, the doctor snapped out of her work-related trance and looked towards the door. "Anna! Hey!" she said. "Are you heading out?"

"Eeyup!" Anna said, wondering where in the world that came from. Was she raised in the country? She never said "Eeyup". She cleared her throat, stepping inside the comfortably cool office that smelled faintly like pine needles. "I mean I'm just about to."

"Well good job today, as usual," Dr. Maren replied, even though she only saw Anna once today. Her polite smile turned into a guilty frown, "I say that too much, don't I?"

Anna's eyes widened, "No! It's great, I-I love the encouragement. Seriously, for real I do." She seriously does, for real.

"Oh, okay well that's good to know. I'll make sure to keep encouraging you then. But only if you're doing a good job." She says that last part while pointing at Anna with an authoritative yet still lighthearted look on her face. She giggles and waves away any errant awkwardness away with her hand. For herself at least, Anna was still riddled with awkwardness _and_ anxiousness that was creeping up her spine.

"Then I'm gonna keep doing a good job, just to hear that." Anna tries to giggle too, but it comes out as nervous laughter.

"Was there anything I could do for you?"

Ah, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? That's why Anna was here, and why she was currently trying not to fidget with the baseball cap she just took off her head. She was standing close to the desk, and yet felt like she was speaking from so far away. Or maybe it's because the doctor felt like she was looming much more in her eyes.

Now or never, just like she rehearsed with Elsa. Preferably with less jumping off the bed and biting her fingers. Great, now she had some weird images going through her head.

Anna sighed, feeling like all the air in her body just escaped her. "Actually, I...I just wanted to say that- I mean I wanted to thank you. For everything. For the job, for taking care of Elsa, for being so nice to me this past couple of months. It means a lot, truly. You're an amazing help and a wonderful doctor."

Dr. Maren deflates, but in a good way if that makes sense. She settles into herself a little bit more and her smile's grown a little wider. Could it be that she wasn't used to getting complimented? That's crazy! She makes a living taking care of sick pets, you would think she'd be swimming in thank you cards. "Thank you, Anna," she replies softly, "That means a lot."

So far, so good. Now onto the next part. Another awkward breath/sigh combination later, and Anna continued, "Yeah, and I appreciate you as more than just a doctor but also like...as a person. N-not that I _don't_ see you as a person, I-I just mean that you mean more to me than just being my boss and Elsa's vet."

Dr. Maren, hopefully oblivious to the fact that she royally screwed up step two, laughed politely, "I'm not your boss, Anna. Not directly, at least. I'm more like a coworker who works in a different department."

"You're more than that to me."

"I'm sorry?"

Aaaaaand she already messed up part three.

"What do you mean by I'm more than that?"

"I, uh...I- well I just meant…"

Well, she couldn't backtrack and muddle up her intentions anymore. Anna wanted to make it perfectly clear what her feelings were, even if getting here turned out to be an absolute trainwreck. And, to be honest, how else was she expecting it to go?

She closed her eyes and covered her face with her cap, taking a second to recover. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how much I'm screwing this up," she muttered.

"Anna...is there something else you wanted to tell me?"

Anna put her baseball cap back down with an exasperated groan. Dr. Maren's eyes narrowed with both concern and curiosity.

Screw it, she had to take her shot. Bottom of the ninth, yadda yadda.

"Dr. Maren...I like you. I think you're beautiful and smart and pretty, and to be honest I've had a crush on you ever since I first saw you. Could you- I mean would you maybe want to go out...with me….maybe?"

The two seconds of silence between them felt like a million for Anna. And, in her experience, that silence was usually followed by the dreaded "I don't like girls" answer. Which was way worse than just saying they weren't interested because that took her chances from zero to negative one hundred. It also didn't help that the confidence to blurt out her confession waned before the end and she slowly started to second guess her words.

Ah man, she could already feel it. She was going home to Elsa with bad news.

She closed her eyes and winced, hoping that when she opened them, she'd somehow wake up and realize this was all a bad dream. "Gah sorry, that was..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you like that. Or ever. I-I'm just gonna-"

"Sure, I'd love to."

Anna opened her eyes so fast that she could see spots, and also the warm smile from Dr. Maren. "Wait what? You would?" she asked, blinking to get her full vision back.

Eeyup, Dr. Maren was definitely smiling. She nodded, "Of course. When's your next day off? Mine's this Thursday."

Her next day off...oh gosh, what was _today_? Hurry Anna, figure out how dates work before she changed her mind. "Y-yeah, mine's this Thursday too."

"Perfect! We can go out to lunch or something."

"Yeah, we can do lunch or something."

"Or if you want, I know this place where…" Dr. Maren's phone began to ring, and she rolled her eyes. "Ugh, damn it. I'm sorry, I need to take this."

"Oh, okay well I need to go anyway so I can feed Elsa," Anna replied.

"We'll talk and make it official tomorrow?"

And finally it hits Anna, with full force, that Dr. Maren really does want to go out with her. She needed to get out of here quickly, so she could release the rising gleeful energy building in her stomach. But, like, in a not-so-gross way. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow," Dr. Maren says with a wink.

_With a wink!_

Anna leaves the office before she can ruin this moment, and walks in silence out of the building and to her car. She turns the key in the ignition, cranks on the Air Conditioning, plugs her phone into the aux cord, and blasts her favorite feel-good song through the speakers ("Love in the 21st Century" by Neon Trees).

Finally, she breaks her silence with a giddy squeal and joyful air punches.


	16. Chapter 16

" **T** hanks again for helping me with this, Belle," Anna said.

Belle peeked out from her closet and smiled, "No problem, you know I'd do anything for my favorite sister-in-law."

"I'm your _only_ sister-in-law."

"Exactly!"

Anna heard the sounds of hangers being shuffled around and drawers being opened and closed. When she told Belle and Kristoff about the "yes" (and the _wink_ ), they were ecstatic. The ever-busy librarian even went out of her way to make time and help Anna pick out an outfit. Which was a major help, considering that Anna hadn't been on a date in months and lately she'd been cycling through the same five outfits.

"Besides," Belle continued, "Do you know how long it's been since I've done something girly? I live in a house with three guys, for gosh sake's."

Anna giggled, "Yeah, and I know how much of a pain Kristoff can be sometimes."

"Hey!" Belle glared at her for a second before softening into a smirk, "Yeah, you're right."

It wasn't like Anna was a slob or anything, she could be cute when she wanted to be. But it was nice to have that other perspective, especially from another girl. And considering she didn't _have_ any friends that were girls, or friends in general for that matter, Belle was needed.

No, she didn't count Elsa as a friend. The husky was too cute and precious to be given the simple "friend" label. She was highest on the totem pole, right above best friend, a new role entirely. As if on cue, the puppy walked into her room with a tennis ball in her mouth. Of course she didn't drop it in front of Anna, she still didn't understand the concept of fetch.

She tried and failed to get up on the bed, Anna helped her up and Elsa sat right next to her. "You don't have any girl friends to hang out with?" she asked, hoping that there was someone else just like her.

"I do, but you know how it is. Once you get a job and start a family, that's like...all your life seems to revolve around. Aside from the occasional dinner and kid's birthday party, it's hard to find time to hang out anymore."

Anna _didn't_ know how it was, but that life sounded depressing.

Well...to normal people it would be, but Anna actually wanted that kind of life. To be able to settle down and not worry about who was by her side and what she would be doing, it sounded peaceful.

Perhaps Belle may have bummed herself out, because she changed the subject and asked, "Are you excited for your big date?"

Anna rested her hand on a puppy that was currently trying to wrestle and bite a tennis ball at the same time. She was smiling for more than one reason. "Of course I am! Dr. Maren has some business downtown tomorrow, so we're going to this pizza place that's there. She wanted to 'maximize the time we spent with each other'."

"That's so sweet!" Belle replied. "Also, why do you keep calling her Dr. Maren?"

Oh boy.

She was hoping that Belle wouldn't ask that.

She let out an obviously nervous laugh and muttered, "I don't know her first name."

"What was that?"

Anna cringed, "I said I don't know her first name!"

Belle exited from her closet and looked at her wide-eyed, "What?!"

"It never comes up in conversation!" Anna explained hopelessly. "And I never asked…"

"You mean you've never asked her? Or any of your other coworkers for that matter?"

She bit her lip, "I don't really...talk to my other coworkers. And I've been working with her for two months, it'd be too awkward to ask her that _now_."

Belle raised an eyebrow, "So...what? Are you just gonna call her Dr. Maren on your date?"

"No, I-I can ask her tomorrow," she replied pitifully. "Just like...at the beginning."

Belle opened her mouth to speak, but let out an exasperated sigh instead. "Oh my goodness, Anna," she said while shaking her head. "This is why you need me."

"And Elsa!" Anna replied, holding the puppy up with both hands like she was presenting it to a crowd of animals as their new king. "She helped me meet Dr. Maren in the first place, she's the greatest wingwoman ever." Elsa replied to the comment by squirming effortlessly in an attempt to bite her hand.

The brunette rolled her eyes, but her expression softened. She walked over to both of them and pet the husky between the ears. "Yes, she certainly is," Belle cooed. "You are the _cutest_ thing I've ever seen. Don't tell my boys I said that."

Elsa tried to chew on her hands too.

Anna pulled her away and scolded her with a finger tap to the nose, "Hey! We talked about this, remember? You only get to bite _me_."

Elsa continued to squirm until Anna finally put her back on the bed, she resumed her wrestling with the tennis ball. Her biting was starting to be a little too much. Dr. Maren mentioned that her teething phase would be a pain, but Elsa had already chewed through three tennis balls this week and Anna had been getting tiny cuts on the back of her hand. Thankfully, they've already healed.

"Sorry about that," Anna said.

Belle waved her off, "Don't worry about it, she's still a kid. This kinda stuff happens. One time, Adam bit me because I wouldn't let him wear his clothes in the bath."

"Ouch."

She shrugged, "It's just being patient, that's all. I've dealt with worse at the library anyway. Now back on topic: I picked out an outfit for you, I want you to try it on."

Anna giggled, "Alright then, Mrs. Bossypants." She gave Elsa a parting belly rub and stood up. "Also, you know I'm going to like whatever you picked out, right?"

Belle scoffed, "That's cheating! Try it on first and if you want to nitpick, then you can. After all, it's _your_ date."

She was right, it _was_ her date. I

t was still surreal to think that tomorrow afternoon, she would be on a date with the smartest, most gorgeous woman she'd ever met. And judging from their talk yesterday, it seemed as if Dr. Maren was just as excited for it. Could it be that the feelings were completely mutual? Did the doctor like this clumsy janitor just as much as she liked her? It sounded like a fairy tale, the ones her mom read her when she was still a kid. The ones she would have a million questions about every night.

Could it finally be happening for her?

Well, regardless, she was looking too far in the future. What mattered right now was going into her closet and trying on the outfit that Belle picked out.

Laid out on top of her sock drawer were a pair of light-blue jeans and a white slightly-low-cut tank top with gold sewn-in buttons running along the center. It didn't look familiar, but then again she hadn't dug through her closet in a while. It must have been a gift or something.

Anna slipped on the outfit, relishing in the feeling of putting on something that wasn't her uniform. She looked herself over on the full-body mirror that barely fit in here. It looked great and very simple, and the tank top really brought out her freckles. She turned around, admiring for one embarrassing second the way her butt sorta filled into the jeans.

Satisfied with herself, Anna came out of the closet. "I like it," she said to her sister-in-law. "But what do you think?"

Belle and Elsa were sitting on her bed. The brunette whistled, the husky tilted her head.

"Holy crap. Dr. Maren is one lucky lady," Belle answered.

Anna blushed, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. "Stoooop! We're not even together."

"Not yet," Belle replied with a wink. "It looks good, but- ah shoot, you're gonna eat pizza right?"

"Uh…yeah. Why?"

Belle stood up and shook her head, "You shouldn't be wearing white then, just in case. Don't worry, I'll find a different top."

Anna sat back on the bed and pouted, "But I like this top…"

Elsa was laying on her belly, periodically licking her paws. She functioned off bursts of energy, and it seemed like she had just tuckered herself out. Probably for the rest of the day too, considering it was already 8 PM. That's like two hours past her bedtime.

Belle walked out of the closet with a more familiar button-up shirt in tow. It was a nice color of jade and thankfully didn't have a flannel pattern so she wouldn't be a walking stereotype. "Alright, try this instead."

Anna walked back to her closet and put on the shirt. She left the top button undone and rolled up the sleeves, the way she typically wore them.

This was a comfortable look for her, she looked herself over in the mirror and nodded. In a weird way, she felt more sophisticated and appropriate looking to be dating a doctor. She liked it, but she was afraid that it might be too much for a first date.

Then again, she also wanted to look like she was taking this seriously.

"Much better!"

Anna yelped, even though she saw Belle approaching. "Gosh, don't scare me like that!"

Belle giggled, "Sorry. But yeah that looks better. How do you feel?"

Anna looked herself over one more time, secretly bummed that the bottom of her shirt covered half of her butt. "I like it, I just...I don't know, I don't wanna be too overdressed."

"Hey, she's a doctor. She'll probably be wearing something similar."

"Yeah, you've got a point." Besides, the cotton material made her look less like she was going for an interview, and more like she was a mother hosting a bake sale. Even though she couldn't bake worth a damn. "Okay, well then I'll wear this. She's only seen me out of uniform like three times, so I'm hoping she'll be impressed."

Belle brushed off her shoulders and fixed up her collar, "Trust me. She will be."

Five minutes later, she was out of her first date fit and back into her pajamas. Belle spent a little more time cooing over Elsa before hugging them both and going back home. Tomorrow was going to be an experience, for sure. Anna carried the tired puppy back to her kennel.

"We should both probably go to sleep, huh?" Anna asked her as they walked down the hallway.

Elsa huffed through her nose.

"Don't worry Elsa, no matter what happens I'm not going to be replacing you with anyone else. No matter how cute they are."

She set Elsa down in front of her kennel, the husky walked right in and curled onto her bed. Anna couldn't explain why, but a sudden wave of emotions passed over her as she watched Elsa watching her with those curious blue eyes. Brighter than her own.

What was this? Admiration? If it was, it was stronger than she'd ever felt it before. She admired Elsa, was grateful for her...no, it was more than that. It was love. Genuine, unconditional love for a puppy that could never express it back other than just...being there. She was a fool for thinking that Elsa would only be with her for a day or two, especially when she bonded with her so quickly. As excited as she was for her date tomorrow, Elsa was currently the most important thing in her life. Even if she was teething like crazy and messing up her furniture. But hey, Dr. Maren was in the top five.

Anna closed the latch and smiled at her puppy, "No matter what, you'll always come first, girlie. I love you."


	17. Chapter 17

**T** he second Anna stepped inside _Big Papa's,_ she realized, "I am so overdressed."

It was definitely a step-up from some cheap restaurant chain, but it wasn't some fine-dining pizza place like she was imagining. She didn't want to make any assumptions with a name like _Big Papa's,_ but she definitely should have at least checked out some pictures first.

It had a spacious floor plan with checkered-patterned tables scattered throughout. Stereotypical Italian knick-knacks adorned the walls, and typical overhead lighting was replaced with long strings of lightbulbs. If "outside, but actually inside" was the look they were going for, they certainly nailed it. Near the kitchen entrance was the brick oven, with a comically-large neon sign of who Anna assumed was "Big Papa".

A waiter standing behind a podium, smiled at her, "Hi, welcome to Big Papa's. Just one?"

Anna blinked and shook her head, "M-me? Oh sorry, uh...no, I-I'm meeting someone, so I'm just waiting. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" He replied, "Would you like to look at the menu while you wait?"

The residual nerves from being on this date in the first place were already affecting Anna. She found herself tongue-tied over such a basic question. No, she didn't need a menu yet, because she didn't want to seem like she was in a hurry. But she also didn't want to wait for Dr. Maren with nothing to preoccupy herself with. And it would be good to not seem so indecisive, maybe Dr. Maren liked someone who knew what she wanted.

What _did_ she want? And oh dear, how long has she been standing here without an answer? And was her sweat seeping through her cotton shirt?

"There you are!"

That voice could only belong to one person: her savior. Or, at least, someone who sounded exactly like her and maybe mistook Anna for someone else. Regardless, she turned around.

And had to keep her jaw from dropping onto the floor.

Never in her life did she expect to see Dr. Maren look so...casual. She had on a black and gray raglan shirt with the sleeves folded up to the elbows, jeans with a tattered hole at the left knee, and black high-tops that, ironically, made Anna realize that she was taller than the doctor. Her hair was still in that thick braid she was so accustomed to seeing.

It made Anna realize two things: Dr. Maren could look good in anything, and that she was definitely overdressed for this.

"I wanted to get here early, just to save time, you know?" Anna replied, finding her voice faster than she thought she would.

"To save time?" Dr. Maren shook her head, amused, and now right in front of the flustered redhead. "Do you have another date after this or something?"

"No! I-I wouldn't do that, it's just you today. I made sure that I didn't have anything else-"

Dr. Maren chuckled, "Relax, Anna, I'm joking." She patted her arm, and then ran both her hands along Anna's sleeves. "You look nice, by the way. I love this color."

"Thank you?" Oh come on, Anna, that wasn't supposed to be a question.

"Now come on, let's sit down," Dr. Maren replied, winking at her again. "I know a good spot."

* * *

Because they got here after the lunch rush, they had a better selection of tables to sit at. Dr. Maren picked a spot by the windows, overlooking the busy downtown intersections.

"It looks much better at night," Dr. Maren explained, "That's when all the lights go on, and everything feels way more alive."

"I can imagine," Anna says, not knowing where to look. She felt a weird pressure to look outside and take in the view, at Dr. Maren so it didn't look like she was ignoring her, at her menu so she didn't get tripped up when ordering, and at the restaurant so that Dr. Maren knew she liked the place she chose. _All at the same time._ She chose to look at the doctor with a strained smile, ignoring the flames of panic in her mind.

Of course the ever-observant doctor could tell something was up. Her eyes narrowed, and she frowned. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Anna opened her mouth to say that everything was fine but thought better of it at the last second. What good would lying accomplish when she wanted to impress her date and, above else, enjoy it? She sighed, "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm nervous. N-not of you, just with this date and everything. It's been a while, and I-I like you so that makes me doubly nervous. I just don't wanna mess things up."

Dr. Maren's posture relaxes, Anna didn't even know she was tense. She smiles sweetly, "What things? You're doing great. Heck, if anything, I think _I'm_ messing things up somehow."

Anna blinked, "You? What? How? Why?"

"Aha...I...it's been a while since anyone's asked me out," she replied with a hopeless-sounding chuckle, "And like...whenever I get nervous, I tend to be really loud and talkative. Which, I guess, might be one of the reasons I don't get asked out much. Among other things people probably say behind my back. Aaaaaand there I go again, talking too much."

To say that this unexpected blurb humanized Dr. Maren more would be an understatement. For the first time, she was seeing her as more than just her coworker that kind of intimidated her but in a cute and romantic way.

Finding her voice again, Anna replied, "I think it's cute. I mean I like hearing you talk, and say words."

And this was definitely the best spot they could have sat in. Anywhere else, and they wouldn't have the right lighting for Anna to see the lovely blush on the brunette's darker skin. Dr. Maren made a gesture like she was waving away a fly, "Anyway, uh, how about we start over?"

Anna tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

The doctor held out her hand and smiled, "Hi, I'm Honeymaren Nattura."

For the first time in...like twenty-four hours, Anna was speechless. She didn't even have to _ask_ for Dr. Maren's first name, and it was far from anything she was expecting. All her guesses felt too plain and uninspired against the reality of Dr. Ma- _Honeymaren's_ full name. Not wanting to look like a twit, Anna shook her hand and replied, "Hi, I'm Anna Muenster. And your name is _beautiful!"_

Honeymaren pulled her hand back and said, "You really think so? I...in my culture it's kind of plain and uninspired."

Anna scoffed, "My last name is a type of _cheese_!"

Honeymaren gasped, eyes widened, " _That's_ why it sounded so familiar!"

"Yeah, so...you know. Your name sounds like you should be some warrior princess or something."

She shrugged, "I did want to live in the forest when I was a kid."

And just like that, any air of uncertainty and panic went right out the newly-cleaned window. No longer were they a veterinarian and a janitor eating a pitifully awkward lunch together. Now they were two equally as awkward women going on their first dates in a very long time, about to eat what was supposed to be really good pizza.

Anna let out an obvious sigh of relief, "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Honeymaren Nattura."

"Likewise, Anna Muenster."

* * *

Deciding against deciding for herself, Anna let the expert decide on what they would be eating. The expert being Honeymaren.

After a respectable amount of time for pizza to be baked at, their personal pizzas finally arrived: chicken pesto for Honeymaren, and pepperoni for Anna. She always judged the quality of pizza places on how well they could make the basics.

"Well, it already smells amazing," Anna said, picking up one of the cheesier slices.

"It's gonna taste even better," Honeymaren said, already one bite into her first slice.

"How many times have you been here anyway?"

Honeymaren, caught mid-bite, put a napkin over her mouth, "Enough to be on Big Papa's 'Wall of Fame'." She pointed to a wall near the entrance that Anna somehow missed. On it were pictures of celebrities and slightly familiar people she'd seen around Arendelle, posing with a rotund man in a greasy apron. She guessed that had to be Big Papa himself.

"So, they noticed you came here a lot and you got a picture with Big Papa?" Anna asked as she prepared herself for her first bite.

"That, and I also ate a sixteen-inch pizza by myself in under thirty minutes."

Anna put down her slice, "What?!"

Honeymaren shrugged, "I like pizza, sue me."

"You're insane."

"Yeah, well you're the one on a date with me, so what does that say about you?"

Anna opened her mouth, realized she had no comeback for that, and picked up her pizza once more. "Fair point," she said, finally taking her first bite.

It tasted like heaven. Greasy, cheesy heaven with a slight kick.

* * *

Long after they had cleaned their plates and paid the bill (Honeymaren got to it before she could, and she used her "Wall of Fame" discount too), the two were still sitting at their now cleaned table. It wasn't as if they were disrupting anyone, and the restaurant wasn't packed, so they could stay for now.

Anna was concerned, though, didn't Honeymaren say she had business down here? When did she have to leave? She hoped that she wasn't keeping her from something important.

Honeymaren, meanwhile, looked like she couldn't care less about any prior commitments. She hadn't checked her phone once or so much as glanced at a clock, all her focus was either on the food or, now, Anna. She looked so at ease with her head propped up by her hand and her smile never leaving.

And it felt nice having someone be so interested in her again.

"So an Elementary Education degree. How'd you decide on that?" Honeymaren asked.

Anna twirled a strand of her hair around her finger, "I, uh...didn't have a lot of friends growing up. Especially in elementary school, I was kind of weird and awkward. But my teachers, they were the best. They helped me get out of my shell, and ask about my day, and supported me in anything I wanted to do. I guess I just want to be like that for some other lonely, awkward kids."

"Awww," Honeymaren cooed, "That's really cute."

"I know it's probably not the profound explanation you were looking for, but-"

Honeymaren reached out her hand again, laying it on top of Anna's hand, "Hey, profound or not, it's what you want to _do_. Don't let my opinion change that. That being said, I know you'd be an _excellent_ teacher."

Anna bit her lip, cheeks growing increasingly red. Not just because a girl was holding her hand again, but also because she was feeling this overwhelming urge to kiss said girl. Desperate to think about anything else, she continued on with her thought, " _I_ \- ahem, I'm flattered, but I don't know when I can prove that. Just my luck that I end up living in a city with the lowest turnover rate for teachers. No one's hiring right now."

The brunette gave her a sympathetic frown, " _Right now._ That's the keyword- well, words."

"Yeah...yeah I know. I'll keep looking until a school finally takes me in."

"You know I'm gonna miss working with you when you leave."

Now her cheeks were even redder, "Oh please, anyone can clean a toilet."

Honeymaren raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Well I've never met anyone that does it while singing pop songs and show tunes."

Anna's eyes widened, "You hear me?!"

"My office is right next to the restroom! And the walls aren't that thick."

"Oh dear…"

"Relax, you have an amazing voice. I wouldn't have mentioned it if you didn't, in fact I probably would have told you to stop."

"Oh, uh...good?"

"Yes. Good."

Good.

Things were going good, really good. You could even say that things were going great. And maybe things would continue to go great, assuming that Honeymaren wanted to keep doing this whole dating thing. Should Anna ask that now? There was a definite lull in the conversation, so if there was ever a time to ask it would definitely be now.

And that's when the nerves started kicking in again. One good date doesn't mean there's a future in this. What if Honeymaren said no? How awkward would it be for them at work tomorrow? Gosh, she'd probably have to find another job entirely. But then, she'd also have to find a new vet for Elsa.

"Oh crap! I still have to feed Elsa!"

Honeymaren jumped a little bit at the sudden outburst, "What?"

She placed both of her hands on her cheeks and groaned, "I lost track of time, I need to get home and feed her. Oh, she must be _furious_!" The thought of a husky that weighed less than a sack of potatoes being mad at her was...actually that was a little amusing.

"She eats dinner this early? I mean it's only…" Honeymaren pulled her phone out and gasped, "Oh crap! I'm late!"

The two hopeless women scrambled out of their chairs, Anna hid her amusement over the fact that she was right about Honeymaren losing track of time too. When they reached the entrance, they opened the doors at the same time and were both greeted by the blinding light of an Arendelle sunset.

"Shit, my mother's gonna kill me," Honeymaren muttered. "Where did you park?"

Anna pointed to the west side of the lot, resisting the urge to ask what she was meeting her mother for, "What about you?"

Honeymaren snorted, "The exact opposite side. So much for a cute, last walk to each other's cars."

Anna wanted to be coy and say that they could save that for the second date, but they were both in a hurry (Honeymaren more so) and she didn't want to bring up something that would take even longer to talk about. "Be careful when you're driving alright?" she asked instead.

"You too. And tell Elsa I said hi," Honeymaren responded.

"I will." They should be saying goodbye right now, and walking to their cars. Of course Anna didn't want to, she wanted to spend the rest of the day with Honeymaren. But they'd see each other at work tomorrow, and they both had things they had to be doing. Tossing away her disappointment, she turned to Honeymaren and said, "Well I-"

Honeymaren interrupted her with a sudden and mind-blowing peck on the lips.

As all the air escaped out of her lungs, Anna could only watch as the coy brunette took two steps back, bit her bottom lip, and said "See you tomorrow, Anna" before turning on her heels and running to her car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Just gonna...sneak right past ya, and add that Anna/Honeymaren tag. 
> 
> Oops.


	18. Chapter 18

**A** nna threw her date shirt into her laundry basket, placed her date pants back on the rack, and slipped into her non-date pair of shorts and t-shirt. She wiped off her date makeup, brushed her non-date teeth, and drank some non-date water. And then she flopped back onto her non-date bed, thinking date thoughts.

It was a good date.

A couple of hours later and she couldn't believe it even happened, she was still wondering whether it was all a dream. And that _kiss_! It was so quick and sudden, it definitely felt like _that_ never happened.

But then Anna thinks about the way Honeymaren stepped back while biting her lip, smiling like even she was surprised she did that, and...well, that just gets her thinking about the whole date again.

It was a wonderful date.

Anna put a couple of fingers to her lips as if they had somehow changed from the beginning of the day. They didn't, obviously, the only thing that had changed was that _someone else's lips were on them._ She'd been kissed before, obviously. Her first kiss was like three years ago, but it was still a surreal feeling. Getting kissed always is.

She heard tiny feet trotting down the hallway, even though she didn't own a horse. Elsa came into her room, tongue out and looking just as happy as Anna felt. She jumped up, got her front paws on Anna's sheets, and started slowly slipping down before falling back onto the floor. Anna sat up and lifted the motivated puppy on her bed. "You finished with your dinner?" she asked, scratching her behind the ears.

"And you drank your water?"

Elsa responded by sneezing and stepping back, looking at her owner that, unbeknownst to her, was about to burst from excitement.

"And you did your, you know, your business?" Anna flicked two fingers back and forth to make it look like her hand was walking, which was the most nonsensical way to describe peeing. When Elsa tilted her head, as if to ask what was wrong with her, Anna continued, "I'll take that as a yes."

And she scooped her puppy into her arms, lay back onto her bed, rolled around with Elsa, and squealed with joy.

"Ahhh! I'm so freaking happy! The date was _amazing_!" Anna exclaimed. Elsa, sensing that she was in mortal danger, squirmed around in the redhead's arms and tried gnawing at her fingers to no avail. Ironic, considering the husky was typically the one with excitable bursts of energy. "It was amaaaaaazing!"

Anna stopped her rolling and gasped, giving the husky a moment of respite before lifting Elsa up so that her hind legs were on her stomach, but her front legs were in the air with the rest of her body. "And she kissed me, Elsa!" Anna said, "Honeymaren _kissed_ me! On the lips!"

Elsa was too busy continuing to bite at her hand to respond. When Anna finally let her go, she retreated back to the foot of the bed, giving her owner the best dog equivalent of a pout.

Anna giggled, "I'm sorry girlie, I'm just really happy right now and I needed to tell someone about it."

If the husky could speak, she'd probably tell Anna to call Belle. Which is exactly what Anna did. As she waited for her sister-in-law to pick up the phone, Elsa flopped over and began to chew on her legs.

After four rings, Belle answered. _"Anna! How'd the date go?"_

"She kissed me!" Anna replied, not wanting to put the best news off until later.

" _What?!"_ There's a lot of commotion on the other end after Belle's reaction. Anna hears a sink turn off, shuffling noises, a muffled conversation with a voice that sounds like Kristoff's when he used to stuff his mouth full of marshmallows, and then more steps and shuffling. Finally, the reception clears up again and Belle continues, _"Alright, tell me everything._ Every _thing!"_

"What was all that noise?"

" _Oh pssh, that was just me putting your brother on dish duty. Now give me the details, Muenster."_

"Alright fine," Anna giggled, "Gosh it was...amazing! Wonderful! I'm still trying to process the whole thing, especially at the end with _the kiss_." How many times had she said "amazing" already?

" _Were you expecting it?"_

"Of course not. I-I was still expecting her to, I don't know, think it wasn't a date or anything. I was nervous, you know? Maybe she didn't actually like me, maybe it was just a pity date."

" _Was it?"_

"No, I...she likes me. Honeymaren actually likes me."

Belle gasped, _"You learned her first name!"_

Anna laughed, "Yeah, and I didn't even need to ask for it. Honeymaren...her name is so pretty. It sounds like a flower, or a bird or something. But like a pretty bird."

" _How was the pizza?"_

"It was good. Oh, and I was so overdressed, by the way. I felt like such a dork."

Belle hissed, _"Yikes, sorry about that. But hey, at least now you know! You'll dress differently for the second date. I mean...there_ is _gonna be a second date, right?"_

Anna opened her mouth but hesitated to speak.

" _You hesitated."_

Anna squeaked out a noncommittal noise.

" _And you just made a noncommittal noise."_

"Well…"

" _You didn't talk about a second date?!"_

"She was late for something! And I needed to feed Elsa! We didn't have time to talk about it when we got to the end of the date."

" _And how long, exactly, were you with her?"_

"Uh…" Anna bit her lip and looked to her puppy for some sort of help, who was still busy chewing on her leg. "Ah, you know. The right amount of time?"

" _And you didn't find time to talk to her about it at all."_

"Look, I'm gonna see her tomorrow anyway," Anna argued. "Besides, I know she likes me or else she wouldn't have k-kissed me. And obviously I like her, so isn't it obvious that we'll see each other again?"

" _Well of course, but it still doesn't hurt to ask."_

Anna grumbled, "I knooooow. I'll ask her tomorrow."

" _Good. You better. And I'm assuming you two will play it safe at work too. No secret meetings in the custodial closet, hopefully?"_

"Pssh! I- erm, why would...I would never do that! That's silly, super duper silly. And I wouldn't do a silly thing like that. Ever. It smells like bleach in there."

" _Mmhmm. Well I am_ very _happy for you, Anna Muenster. And I'm glad you told me about it, I mean I was gonna call you after I did the dishes anyway but still."_

"Thanks Belle." Elsa had scooted up to her at some point and was now nuzzling into her leg. Anna scratched her underbelly and smiled even wider. A wonderful date to start the day, and a talk with her best friend to end the day while the cutest puppy in the world fell asleep next to her. It filled Anna with that contentment she'd been wanting for so long, and had been getting much more of recently.

" _Always. But I need to get back to doing mom business and get the boys ready for bed. Call me if you need anything, okay?"_

"Mmkay. Tell Kristoff I said hi. He'll know what it means."

Belle snorted, _"Gotcha. Goodnight, Anna. I love you."_

"I love you too," Anna replied cheerfully as she hung up and flopped back onto her bed for like the third time. Today was eventful, and today was the best day she'd had in a very long time. And tomorrow felt like it was going to be an extension of it. She would see the girl she liked again at the job that she was, well, growing to tolerate. Could it get any better than that?

Elsa peeked her head up from her curled-up position, curious at her owner's sudden movement. Anna giggled and booped her nose. "Don't worry girlie," she said to the husky, "I still love you more."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Happy Pride Month to all of my LGBTQ+ readers. I'm straight, but heavily support all of y'all regardless.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello hello. I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I did say that this was a side project. I've been busy trying to get ahead with FFA, and writing my submission for the monthly Elsanna fanfic contest. Regardless, I wanted to get one more chapter in before the end of the month. Think of it as, I don't know, a belated birthday gift for Anna? 

* * *

**T** hings felt...different. Anna felt different. Her job felt different. Spending time with Elsa felt different. The sky felt different. Eating her favorite, affordable breakfast of store-brand cereal felt different. Cleaning toilets felt different. Singing while cleaning said toilets felt different. Everything felt different.

But fortunately, it was all a _good_ different.

Anna bent down to scoop cat poop into her dustpan with a smile on her face. Honeymaren taught her to chew gum while cleaning so that all she can smell through her mask was mint. Well, for the most part at least.

The cats still eyed her wearily, refusing to trust her even after three months. Even though she treated them with love, respect, and was only one of three people that would clean up after them. Maybe her upbeat personality reminded them of the dogs.

Regardless, she was glad to be done with clean-up duty. One last run-through of the building, and she got to go home. Or at least, after that _and_ her daily conversation with Honeymaren.

They hadn't put a label on their relationship yet, but things were going strong with them. Which, right now, is even more than Anna could ask for. With three dates down and a fourth one on the horizon, she felt confident about where they were going. The run throughs were getting quicker as Anna got more confident in her job, everything would be spotless for at least the next two hours.

She put away all her equipment neatly and in their respective cubbies and shelves (that she helped make in her spare time to make the other custodians' lives easier) and washed her hands thoroughly. Because she cared about cleanliness and didn't want to get anyone sick. Or herself. Or Elsa. Okay, so...maybe Elsa would fall under the "anyone" category, but Anna liked putting her in a category all on her own.

Anna couldn't wait to get back to Elsa.

But first things first. She made her way to Honeymaren's office, but before she went inside, she heard her talking to someone. No, not just anyone, she was talking to Yelena.

"Look, she's been one of our consistently best workers ever since she got here. I think Anna deserves it," Honeymaren said, causing Anna's heart to nearly flutter out of her chest. What did she deserve? And did Honeymaren really think she was good at her job? Wait, that shouldn't surprise her, Honeymaren's been saying that for forever.

"I'm not saying she isn't deserving, I'm saying where are we going to find the money," Yelena replied. "We hired a new custodian yesterday, remember?"

Oh, they did? Wait...is her job safe? Anna's certain that it is, but regardless she runs through her head anything she might have done that could make her fireable. Maybe they didn't like the way she cleaned, or maybe she was using too much disinfectant spray. There was of course that one time she was late, but that's only one strike. As far as anyone has told her, Anna hadn't gotten any more strikes. Plus they were talking about good things. Which meant her job was safe. Certainly. Hopefully. Probably.

Honeymaren sighed, "Of course I remember, I just...I want to do something for her, okay?"

"Because?"

"Ugh! It's _not_ just because she's my girlfriend, damn it!"

Wait…

_Wait._

Girlfriend?!

Unable to contain her silence any longer, even though she shouldn't have been eavesdropping in the first place, Anna gasped. A bit too loud.

The two woman in the office stopped talking, and Anna hoped that was because time had stopped before she made herself known. But that irrational thought was immediately dashed when Honeymaren said, "Anna? Is that you?"

Knowing that there was no sense in lying, and that the only way out of the shelter was past this door, Anna mentally scolded herself and replied. "Yeah...it's me," she said defeatedly.

"Why don't you just come in here?"

So she did.

Anna looked at them both with an uncomfortable, sheepish smile. She thought about waving hello but figured that would seem too ingenuine. Yelena looked at her with her trademark scowl before having an unspoken conversation with Honeymaren, rolling her eyes, and leaving.

And before Anna could register _that_ (while already trying to register, you know, the other thing), Honeymaren frowned and said, "Bye mom."

Mom?!

Were there any tons of bricks that needed to be dropped on her before she went back home?

The only saving grace, as Anna plopped down onto a seat, was that Honeymaren looked just as mortified as her. The brunette slowly ran her fingers through her hair, her head resting on her desk. After a long, dramatic pause, she let out a groan and bit her lip while looking at her _girlfriend_ , "So...I don't even know where to start."

Anna did. "Yelena's your _mom_?!"

Honeymaren looked at her wide-eyed, "I thought you knew!"

"Of course not! I don't just go around asking coworkers who their moms are."

"Ugh crap, I'm so sorry, Anna. I thought it was obvious, I mean I should have told you in the first place but...wow, I suck."

"You don't suck, it just caught me off guard, that's all."

"I genuinely thought that either someone told you, or you would have noticed how similar we looked," Honeymaren explained.

Anna frowned, "You know I don't pick up on things like that. I didn't even know you liked me until-"

"I kissed you?" Honeymaren interrupted.

Anna pouted and looked away, hoping that her blush wasn't too apparent. It's amazing how much that memory still made her flustered, even if they'd had better kisses since then. As quick and unexpected as that first one, it was still her favorite one so far. "Yeah," she muttered in response.

"Well surprise, I _do_ like you. And surprise, Yelena's my mom," Honeymaren giggled and looked a little more at ease, which put the redhead more at ease too surprisingly. There was something about this girl's smile that made Anna feel so comfy and warm every time.

"And surprise...I'm your girlfriend now?" Anna asked.

Honeymaren gave her an apologetic look, slumping back in her seat. "Should I have asked first? I...I don't know, I just kinda blurted it out without thinking."

"N-no it's okay, I...yeah it's okay. I wouldn't mind being your girlfriend. I mean I'd love it! Like it? Ugh, what's a not-so-crazy answer?"

"Anna Muenster, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Anna took more time composing herself than thinking about that question. After all, she'd known her answer since they started dating. "Absolutely."

The smile on her girlfriend's face had a pureness and joy Anna hadn't seen before. It was like she'd just been told the greatest news of her life. "Well I'm glad," Honeymaren replied, playing with the end of her braid, "Because I want to be your girlfriend, too."

"You better," Anna replied, and they both shared a much-needed laugh. "Well, that was...painless."

"Ah you know me, I don't like to beat around the bush. But next time I say something life-altering, I'll make sure to run it by you, okay?"

"What about whatever you and your m...Yelena were talking about?"

Honeymaren hissed in a breath, "Right. That thing. It's...not finalized yet, and I don't wanna jinx it by telling you before it happens. Is that okay?"

"Is it a bad thing?"

"No, not at all."

"Then it's totally okay!"

"Good! Aaaaaaanyway…" Honeymaren walked to the front of her desk, leaning on it while giving Anna a coy look. "I'm off this Friday, and so are you. You wanna do something?"

Anna wouldn't lie and say she hadn't thought about this exact scenario many, _many_ times in her apartment. Of course, in those scenarios there was no one else at the shelter, and she didn't smell like sweat and hand soap. Oh right, Honeymaren was expecting an answer. "What did...you have in mind?"

She tilted her head up, perhaps to see if anyone was near her still-open door. "Hmm...what if I came over to your place? It'd be nice to see Elsa again, and you can't keep your amazing guitar skills from me forever."

Anna gasped, "I'm not hiding it!"

"But you agree that you're amazing?"

"That…" Anna groaned, "You're impossible."

Honeymaren giggled, "What if I come by at 5? We can have dinner, I'll cook for you."

The combination of how intimate they were being, and the way her girlfriend's makeup was really bringing out the beauty in her already gorgeous eyes, and the promise of a free meal, overwhelmed Anna and left her in a state of smitten...ness that she'd never felt before. "That sounds amazing," she said with a dreamy smile.

"Then it's a date," Honeymaren said happily. "Now come on, don't you need to get back to feed Elsa?"

Anna winced, "Oh! Right! Ugh dang it, she's gonna kill me."

"Here let me walk you out."

Anna thought it was a little silly to walk with her five feet towards the door, it wasn't that far of a distance. But then Honeymaren followed her out the door, all the way to the front of the shelter. This was new, and surprisingly exciting. Especially when Honeymaren reached over and _held her hand._ Step by step, they made her way out of the shelter and towards Anna's car, the farthest they'd ever gone together.

"So, I'll see you Friday?" Honeymaren asked.

Anna opened her door and said, "Of course. I can't wait."

"Good," Honeymaren leaned in to kiss her, a short and sweet one. "And tell Elsa I said hi, okay?"

"Okay."

Her girlfriend walked back into the shelter with a slight bounce in her step, Anna slipped into her car and started the engine.

Yeah...this was a _very_ good different.


	20. Chapter 20

**A** nna sat down on her couch, elbows resting on her knees with her hands clasped together. Her face was covered by a veil of seriousness, and right now her eyes could get anyone to confess to the worst of crimes.

After a deep breath, she spoke, "Alright...I need you to listen to me very carefully. You and I have been a team for a while now, a _great_ team, but today we need to be perfect. Our communication needs to be on point, we have to know what each other will do before we do it. And that goes double for you, I know sometimes you can be a loose cannon, you don't like to play by the rules all the time. I'm just asking you to play by the rules _today_. This mission is too important. I know training's been rough recently, but I guarantee that your reward for your obedience will be better than you can imagine. I just need for the both of us to be on the same page, and for you to be the best version of yourself. Can I count on you, partner?"

Elsa looked at her until she'd finished talking and then continued to nibble at her owner's toes.

"Okay...I'll take that as a maybe."

She stood up and walked to the bathroom, followed closely by the husky. Honeymaren was going to be here any minute now, and there wasn't anything else she could really do to prepare. She'd spent hours cleaning her apartment (grateful that Elsa wasn't shedding) and even bought scented candles to make the place smell like a freshly-tree'd forest. She also made sure her fridge was stocked with all the ingredients that Honeymaren would need to make dinner. And she cleaned her room well enough that it didn't look like a hobo was squatting here, but not too clean that it seemed like she was some prude.

What else could she make sure was ready except for, well, herself? At the very least, Anna wanted to make sure that she wasn't bleeding or had food on her or something. Unsure if this was just a casual date or a _date_ date, Anna went with a neutral shirt and jeans look, complete with bare feet.

Anna pouted and blew a strand of hair away from her face. She looked at Elsa and asked, "I look alright. Don't I, girlie?"

Elsa did nothing in approval, staring at her needlessly stressed out owner. Surely, if she could speak, Elsa would tell her that there was nothing to worry about. And that if Honeymaren liked her even half as much as Elsa did, then today was going to be fine. That, or she'd ask for a comfier bed.

"Right...it'll be fine," Anna said to herself before looking back at the mirror. "It'll be juuuuust fine."

As if the day was being constructed by an omniscient writer driving along the plot, the doorbell rang. That had to be Honeymaren. Anna walked, but not too fast, over to the door and took a deep breath before unlocking it.

Sure enough, there was her beautiful girlfriend, wearing the prettiest yellow sundress she'd ever seen. And she'd also worn her hair down for the occasion. Maybe this _was_ a date date.

Honeymaren let out a groan, "Finally! I've been waiting here for forever."

A fifty-pound weight dropped into the pit of Anna's stomach and her eyes widened, "I am _so_ sorry! I would have gotten here sooner but I was in the bathroom- no, not like that. I was just, you know, looking at myself which I know also sounds weird and I guess I lost track of time and I'm really, _really_ sorry-"

Honeymaren shut her up with a quick kiss on the lips, "Anna, it was a joke. Don't worry. Thank you for having me." She sidestepped her petrified girlfriend and whistled, "I love your place. It's really cute."

Anna blinked, using every last one of her working brain cells to close her mouth and the door. This was sure to be an interesting day.

* * *

It takes about five minutes after Honeymaren sees Elsa again until she's able to say a discernible, non-gibberish sentence.

"You are the _cutest_ puppy in the world," she says while energetically scratching Elsa's belly. The husky was both excited and apprehensive at first, wondering _why_ her owner brought home the woman who put a thermometer up her butt, but she was easily persuaded by the treats that said woman brought with her. Now they were like best friends.

Which totally didn't make Anna jealous at all.

"I bet you're so happy this isn't a house call, huh?" Honeymaren said to Elsa, who responded by sticking her tongue out and continuing to wiggle around. "No, I'm just here to visit you and make out with your sexy owner."

Even though Anna was sitting away from them, she still turned her head to keep anyone from seeing how tomato-faced she'd gotten. You figured she'd be used to her girlfriend's forwardness by now, but no. It still knocked her for a loop.

Seemingly satisfied with the belly scratches she'd gotten, Elsa flipped over and jumped off the couch, running off to who knows where. Honeymaren wiped her hands on her knees and smiled at Anna, showing her she wasn't forgotten, "How's the biting been?"

She returned the smile, "It's getting better. She doesn't maul my hands anymore, although I can't say the same for the tennis balls I have to buy her every week."

Honeymaren raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like you need to start buying some tougher tennis balls."

Anna frowned, "The cheaper ones come in a five-pack, though."

Her girlfriend rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle. She scooted closer and rested her head on Anna's shoulder, "You're so cute."

Yep, still blushing. "Cuter than Elsa?" Anna asked hopelessly.

"Oh come on, don't make me answer that."

Anna scoffed, "Rude...but understandable."

Honeymaren intertwined their fingers and sat up, looking at the redhead with a cheeky grin. "You know what I think we should do now?" she asked, her voice highly suggestive.

Feeling the room get a hundred degrees hotter, Anna almost couldn't keep eye contact with the _still_ surprisingly forward girl next to her. "What's that?" she asked as the distance between them was getting increasingly smaller. Soon, their lips were only centimeters apart. Honeymaren's eyes were half-lidded and Anna was all but ready to give in to the intoxicating feeling of what they could do now that they were alone: the illusive make-out session. And that was when Honeymaren finally answered her own question:

"We should go cook dinner."

The wind blew a little bit colder around Anna, and she felt like she had room to breathe. Which was probably because Honeymaren was no longer right next to her, and instead was halfway to the kitchen. Anna blinked, wiping the bit of drool on her lip before joining her.

"Right. Dinner. Cooking."

* * *

Unable to help herself, Anna gently opened the oven door and peeked inside, staring in awe at the fish baking underneath the golden light, and the potatoes nestled right next to it in its baked, herbed glory. The sight came at the price of getting a blast of heat to her face in the process. She closed it quickly, and not as gently, when she heard footsteps down the hall.

"Did you peek in the oven again?" Honeymaren said, though she wasn't in sight just yet.

"No," Anna lied.

Her girlfriend appeared once again and she looked at the redhead, who was suspiciously close to the oven, with a raised eyebrow. "How's the food looking?"

Anna pouted and mumbled out, "Delicious."

Honeymaren smirked, "I thought so. But stop opening the oven or else it won't cook evenly." She walked to the sink where all their dirty dishes sat. When she turned on the faucet and started scrubbing down one of the plates, Anna stepped forward and let out a noise. "What is it?" the confused dishwasher asked.

"I- no, it's just that I was going to clean those later. After you left. I didn't want you to do _everything_."

"Pssh nonsense, you cut the potatoes and put the spices and stuff on the fish. Let me handle the dishes."

"Yeah but you did the actual cooking and baking and all that."

Honeymaren rolled her eyes and turned off the faucet. She turned to face her guilty girlfriend while wiping her hands with a towel. "Anna, I picked an easy recipe so that you and I could make the dish together. You did more work than you think. Just let me do this for you, okay? And if you _still_ feel guilty, then I'll make a huge mess while we're eating so you have to clean it up. Got it?"

Truth be told, there weren't a lot of dishes to clean. But it just felt wrong having the guest, and her date, doing her chores. Still, Honeymaren was as stubborn as she was kind hearted. Admitting defeat, Anna raised her hands and said, "Fiiiine. I gotta feed Elsa her dinner anyway."

As if on cue, Elsa scurried over to the couple, eyeing her owner curiously. Figures that she would understand the word "dinner".

* * *

A forkful of fish and potatoes hovered over Anna's face, near her mouth. "Uhh, what's going on?" she asked, almost going cross-eyed trying to look at the fork.

"Aaah," was all she got as a reply.

"What?"

Honeymaren sighed and put the fork back on her own plate, "I'm trying to do that cute thing where I feed you some of my food."

Anna blinked and her eyes widened, "Oooh, but wait...doesn't that only work if we're eating different things?"

Her girlfriend rolled her eyes and said, "You're hopeless."

Well, nice going there, Muenster. Hoping to remedy her awkwardness, Anna impulsively grabbed Honeymaren's arm as she was about to take another bite and stole the food right off the fork. With her mouth. Which, of course, made her feel guilty over depriving Honeymaren of more fishy, potatoey goodness mixed with rosemary and garlic.

"Mmm teyshty," Anna remarked with a full mouth.

Honeymaren looked at her slack jawed, and Anna could see her mind resetting. Thankfully, the brunette just laughed and scooped another bite of her food. "You are by far the weirdest girl I've ever dated," and just before she put the fork in her mouth she added, "And I love it."

Anna took a strange amount of pride in that. Out of curiosity, she asked, "How many girls have you dated?"

She swallowed her food and shrugged, "I think you're the fifth."

For some reason, that surprises Anna. But maybe that's because she's only ever dated one person, and that relationship sometimes didn't even feel like it counted. It was a whole thing, best not to get into it. It probably surprised her because now she felt like there was some sort of experience gap.

Honeymaren frowns, "I hope that doesn't put you off or anything."

Anna blinked and shook her head, "No! Uh sorry, I think it's pretty cool that you're so confident and stuff. It's just that I've only ever been in one other relationship, so I feel a little...inexperienced?"

She waved off that nonsense with her fork, "Ah come on, there's no such thing. Every new relationship has different kinds of fun and different kinds of baggage. You're not inexperienced, in fact you're pretty lucky that you found such a good catch on your second try." Honeymaren sealed that remark with a wink.

"You're right, I _am_ lucky that I found you."

Oh dang. Anna has _no_ idea where that comment came from, she struggles enough finding cute ways to tell _Elsa_ how much she adores her, but it seems to have a positive effect. Honeymaren's eyes widen for a second, and she turns back to eating her food, mumbling what sounds like a thank you. It's the first time she's ever seen her girlfriend flustered.

It makes her feel like a rockstar.

* * *

And this upcoming moment is about to make her feel even more like a rockstar.

After she gave a short and underwhelming tour of her room, Honeymaren found her guitar that she didn't really try that hard to hide away. Of course, the brunette's eyes lit up and she immediately asked her to play something.

"Uh...are you sure? It's getting late." It definitely wasn't, the sun had barely set, but of course Anna was self-conscious playing in front of anyone but Elsa. It was a struggle to even play in front of her parents sometimes.

"Doesn't matter. I want to hear how good you are." Honeymaren scooted on her bed so she was sitting cross-legged, and cradled the guitar in her arms. "Please?" Elsa was also making a guest appearance in this bout of peer-pressure, sitting next to Honeymaren and looking at her with neutral yet adorable puppy-dog eyes.

Anna being Anna, she had dreamed of this moment more than once and even had a song running through her head to perform in case this ever happened. Which meant that she couldn't say she wasn't prepared.

"I don't know…" she said.

"I'll kiss you," Honeymaren replied, and Elsa yipped in agreement.

That was, pathetically, all the convincing Anna needed. She gestured for the guitar, which Honeymaren eagerly gave up, and rested it in her lap. After a quick tuning, she looked back at her audience with a sheepish grin. "Alright, I...I think I've got a thing. That I can sing."

"I'm so excited," Honeymaren said. Elsa ambled over to her owner, sitting in her preferred position whenever it was song time.

One deep breath later, and she began to slowly play a simple melody, gradually bringing it to its original tempo when she finally felt comfortable. And then she sang, soft and uncertain but with clarity in her words.

 _You had me at hello  
_ _Cause where you go is where I go  
_ _I don't need nobody else  
_ _I got you and you got me too_

At the end of this line, she saw Honeymaren smile. Not one of her cheeky grins, or her reassuring veterinarian smile, this was new. More reserved yet tender, like she was experiencing an emotion (a good one) that she didn't know how to react to. Anna didn't know how to react to this either, so she just continued to sing. More confident this time.

 _You came right out of the blue  
_ _I wanna do what you want to  
_ _We can leave and run away  
_ _Someday, someday_

The original song is way more upbeat than she's playing it, but Anna's sure that doesn't matter as much in the moment. As she reaches the chorus, she continues the reserved yet intimate feel. And she finds the boldness to sing and look at her girlfriend at the same time.

 _I've been saving  
_ _I've been saving you  
_ _And you saved me too  
_ _Yeah I need it  
_ _Don't you need me too  
_ _Cause I need you_

Elsa rests her head on her knee, relaxed and satisfied, probably thinking this song is for her. And in a way, it kind of is too.

 _Yes, so call me anytime that you need a favor  
_ _Call me anytime I can come and save you, oh oh  
_ _Call me anytime that you need a friend  
_ _And call me anytime when you're out of time  
_ _And you  
_ _I got you_

_And you got me too_

* * *

"I really am in love with your place," Honeymaren says as they walk to her car. "I felt so...comfortable and warm. I mean it's probably because you and Elsa make such good hosts, but still."

"It is nice," Anna replied. "Are you gonna be okay driving home?"

"Well, it's a little late but I think I'll be okay." Honeymaren squeezed her hand to get her attention, and she grinned at her. "Unless you don't _want_ me to go home."

Anna giggled, "Nah you've got work tomorrow. I'll make sure to visit you tomorrow though in case you want to get lunch or something."

"I'll make sure to schedule you in for an appointment." They made it to her car safe and sound. Honeymaren leaned on her door, looking at Anna like she was one of the stars in the sky. "You know, you're really something special. I already miss you."

Thankfully, the darkness covered the blush on her cheeks- the blush that Honeymaren had seen too much of today. "You'll see me tomorrow, don't worry."

"I know," she said with a frown, "It's just gonna be a little hard to sleep without you, that's all. Cold bed and all."

Anna tilted her head, "But I haven't slept in your bed before?"

Instead of easing Anna's confusion, Honeymaren looked at her amused and grabbed her hip, pulling her in to kiss her in a way that she'd never been kissed before. This was long, teetering on the edge of needy, and a shocking sensation that she definitely welcomed. Was this making out? Were they making out right now? Could they do this more often?

Before any of her questions could be answered, Honeymaren pulled them apart, keeping her fingers hooked into the belt loops on Anna's jeans. "Goodnight," she said satisfied.

"Goodnight," Anna replied, feeling like all the wind was taken from her lungs.

* * *

With Elsa tucked safely in her kennel, and all her nighttime rituals situated, Anna finally lay her head on her pillow and closed her eyes.

There was so much to unpack from today- from Honeymaren's amazing cooking skills to the question of where their relationship was going- but the one thing she knew for certain was that it was amazing. All of it.

Honeymaren was someone she'd never had in her life, and someone she planned on keeping. And it was an added bonus that she got along with Elsa so well. Wherever this was going, at least they had today. And right now that was enough, right?

She sunk into her bed with a content sigh, reveling in the fact that she also had the day off tomorrow. And she'd get to see her girlfriend in just a few hours. Life was good.

Life was…

Wait…

Wait a minute.

With the free time she had now to process the memories, Anna realized something that she should have before. She opened her eyes and frowned, completely and utterly disappointed at herself.

"She wanted to stay the night."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay so maybe I have a thing for girls in sundresses. Sue me. And, for the record, I want to keep this story as PG, family-friendly as possible. So intimate moments will most likely be kept to just kissing and cuddling, and explicit moments- if any- will only be implied. If you want to see more explicit stuff, read my other works (** _**cough** _ **like the newest chapter of Five Feet Apart** _**cough** _ **).**

 **Also, if you're curious, the song is** _**You Got Me Too** _ **by Loving Caliber.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I feel like, at this point, you should just expect this fic to update monthly.

* * *

**I** t always felt odd for Anna to be at the shelter as a customer (Client? Pet owner? Eh, it was one of those). Maybe it was because she wasn't even allowed in the back with all the animals, or because not having her uniform on made her feel like an impostor, or because she somehow felt guilty for not sweeping or taking out the trash whenever her coworkers passed by. She wasn't too concerned this time, however, not while she was anxiously waiting for Honeymaren and Elsa to walk through the door.

Getting Elsa spayed was necessary. She'd done the research, watched the videos, and Honeymaren constantly brought it up whenever they were cuddling. But it was still _surgery,_ Elsa was knocked out and operated on, and she was going to have stitches and everything. Oh, and she'll probably be in _so_ much pain. Pain that Anna couldn't even fathom. The worst thing that ever happened to Anna was when she broke her wrist falling out of a tree because she was trying to get her shoe off of a branch.

Gosh, she couldn't even bear to think about the sadness she was about to see in her husky's eyes. She'd probably never want to talk to Anna again.

The door to the vet's office finally opens, and- oh, Elsa looks just fine. Same derpy tongue poking out of her same derpy mouth, unfazed by the large, plastic cone around her neck. When the seemingly happy husky notices Anna, she trots over her with Honeymaren following right behind with her leash.

Seeing that her husky is okay, Anna lets out a sigh of relief. "Hey girlie!" she exclaims as Elsa tries and fails to lay her head on her shoes. "You look different. Did you get a haircut?" If she didn't try to make jokes, she was going to explode with anxious energy.

Honeymaren gets down on one knee in front of her and clips the leash to Elsa's collar. "She just woke up. I was expecting the anesthesia to keep her loopy for a little bit longer, but no. I guess Elsa really missed you."

Elsa gave up trying to lay on her owner's shoes and instead laid on on the floor, failing to even get close to chewing on her shoestrings.

"Well, I definitely missed her," Anna replied, gently stroking Elsa's back. And much softly, she said to Honeymaren, "And I missed you too."

Honeymaren flashed her a grateful smile, and then handed her a paper bag and some forms. "This bag has her pain medication, make sure she takes _all_ of them and around the same time every day. Keep the documents in a safe place. And I wrote out a list of things you should do that will help you and Elsa get through this recovery process."

Anna smiled, "Thanks ba- er, doctor. Is there anything else I should know?"

The brunette noticed her near-slip and reacted to it with a quiet snort, "Don't hesitate to call if you have any concerns about her behavior. And make sure to schedule a follow-up appointment so that I can tell you when it's okay to take off the cone."

"Okay, I will."

Before Honeymaren stands up and goes back to being the best veterinarian in the city, she looks around before remarking with a wink: "Also, your butt looks great in those jeans."

* * *

Whatever reserve energy Elsa may have had depleted when Anna pulled her car out of the parking lot.

It was like a switch had been flipped. One second she was panting and looking eagerly around the car, and the next she was a puddle in her seat. During the red lights, Anna would reach over and scratch her behind the ears, reassuring her that they were almost home and that she could tear up more stuffed penguins soon.

At some point, she even tried to talk to her about the necessities of getting spayed, and how this was actually going to help her in the long-run, but then she realized that Elsa was a dog and dogs don't care about surgical processes created by humans for the supposed benefit of their pets.

She bet that Elsa would totally care about the new blanket she got her, though. It was baby blue and had other, tinier huskies on it.

When they reached her apartment complex, Elsa gently stepped out of the car and followed Anna instead of leading the way. Which would have been way more adorable if the cone didn't keep hitting Anna's shin. Each third step was accompanied with a light thwack that was already starting to get old.

Once they reach her door, though, that's when they separate momentarily. Elsa, instead, sniffs around the grass, gently squats, and takes the longest pee of her life. It takes so long that Anna's worried she'll shrivel up from being completely dehydrated. Like a puppy raisin.

Which makes her say out loud, "Ugh! Why would you think that?"

Elsa finishes up her business and waits expectantly as Anna unlocks the door. She bumped her cone on the doorway while walking inside, and then made a beeline (dogline?) to her water bowl.

Anna grabbed her food bowl and filled it up with the husky's brunch, knowing she'd have to be starving after the operation. She also crumbled in this treat that was supposed to be full of vitamins that were good for Elsa. "You've been such a good girl today," Anna said, looking down at her patient puppy sitting in front of her, "I made you your favorite! At least I think it is, you've never said otherwise."

She set down the bowl and watched as Elsa dipped her head down, bumped the bowl with her cone, and sent half the food inside said cone. Elsa then tried to fix the situation by shaking her head to get all the food out, which just caused it all to spill across the kitchen floor. This was going to be a fun couple of weeks.

* * *

Now came the most interesting obstacle: bedtime.

The cone couldn't come off without the vet's permission, and it was too big and clunky for Elsa to even enter her kennel. So, Anna decided to move the husky's bed from the kennel to her room. Just for now.

Obviously, Elsa was conditioned to go to her kennel when Anna said it was bedtime, so the lack of a bed made her curious. She even tried going inside, which was hilarious to see. It was like trying to fit a circle peg into a square hole. "Not this time," Anna said as she scratched the husky's back, "Here. Come with me."

Elsa followed her all the way to the bedroom but stopped at the doorway. She looked confused considering she was never allowed in here when Anna was going to sleep- or when Honeymaren wanted them to have some "private time". She peered tentatively inside, wondering whether this was a trick.

"I know. This is all _very_ new and exciting. It's okay girlie, you can come in."

Now that she had permission, and also because she spotted her bed and favorite stuffed penguin, Elsa stepped inside. Just like before, when she was trying to lay on Anna's shoes, it took a little bit of time for her to get used to what was basically a new, temporary appendage. Luckily, the plastic was bendable enough that Elsa could lay on her side comfortably. Although it did nothing to stop her from looking like an abandoned satellite dish.

Well, at least the new blanket was proving to be a worthy investment. Elsa made no complaints when it was placed over her.

Anna scratched her behind the ears one last time and placed the penguin in between her two front paws. "You're gonna be just fine, Elsa. I love you," she said before getting onto her own bed.

But when she did so, and the silence set in, that's when the thoughts finally began to re-emerge.

Of course she was still a little bit worried. Why wouldn't she be? Elsa couldn't get into her kennel which meant she'd have free rein over the apartment while Anna was at work. She'd been doing good so far about not tearing up furniture and peeing on the carpet, but maybe with the operation things would be different. And taking a couple of weeks off was out of the question because that was money they both needed. Plus, the new hire was having some trouble and they'd asked her to help with the training. And what if the medication barely worked and Elsa spent the whole day howling in pain? What if, after recovering, Elsa decided that she now hated Anna and wanted a new owner? What if there _was_ a complication with the surgery and...no. No, Anna couldn't think like that. She had to be brave and strong, just like Elsa walking out of the vet's office today.

She closed her eyes, telling herself that they would take this one day at a time. That this was only temporary. That the stitches would heal and Elsa would be just fine, and she'd go back to sniffing other dogs' butts at the park soon. This would pass.

A huff interrupted Anna's thoughts and caused her to open her eyes. Elsa was sitting in front of her, protruding cone nearly touching her owner's forehead.

"What is it, Elsa?" she asked.

Elsa tilted her head at the sound of her name. She made like she was going to stand up and try to get on the bed, but barely got her front paws off the ground. After a beat, Elsa tried again and managed this time to climb on.

Anna winced, waiting for some sort of yelp, but it never came. Elsa looked just fine, proud of herself even as she pawed and circled around the sheets. She found a nice spot next to Anna's legs and curled up victoriously. And just like that, Anna's worries were gone. At least for the night.

Elsa felt confident in herself, which meant Anna felt confident...in both of them. Just as it'd always been these past few months, they'd get through this together too.


	22. Chapter 22

* * *

When her brother texted her asking to come over, and specifically to bring Elsa, Anna was certainly confused. She was, of course, going to bring Elsa anyway, but wondered what Kristoff had up his sleeve.

Well, it turns out he had a puppy up his sleeve.

Not literally of course, his arms weren't _that_ big, but still it came as a shock to Anna when she saw the baby German Shepherd in her brother's arms. She gasped while Elsa pawed at Kristoff's legs and howled.

"What? How? Why? When?!" she asked in quick succession.

He chuckled as the puppy begins to squirm in his arms at the sight of possible new friends. "We got him a month ago. After you brought Elsa over, Belle wanted a puppy of her own. And she's very stubborn. He got the last of his shots yesterday so I figured it was time for him to meet Elsa."

"What's his name?" Anna asks.

"Sven." Kristoff moves his face closer to the excited puppy while Elsa continues to howl for attention from anyone. "Alright boy, play nice with Elsa, okay?"

Anna held her breath, hands ready to grab at Elsa just in case anything went wrong. She has a lot of experience interacting with other humans, but this is the first time- that Anna knows of- where she'd be interacting with another dog. Sven was still a tiny thing, about as tall as a shoebox and a half. He had predominantly brown fur with spots of black, especially across his back. It was like he was dipped in chocolate before being turned into a completely alive dog.

Things were calm so far, there was a lot of sniffing from both of them. And then Elsa, being the taller of the two, raises one of her front legs to paw at Sven. The tinier puppy sidesteps Elsa's paw, which just causes her to try again. And once again, Sven moves out of the way. This continues a couple more times until Sven barks and runs off towards the living room, with Elsa following right behind him. It seems like they're going to get along just fine.

Anna feels relieved, but still a bit weary. With Elsa's stitches fully healed by now, Anna wasn't too worried about her getting hurt. She was more worried about the kind of mess these two could make in a short amount of time.

"He's very good with the kids," Kristoff says proudly, "And of course Belle loves him."

"What about you?" Anna asks.

Her brother let out a breath, a debate occurring right behind his eyes. "I mean...I voted against it at first. A dog's a big investment after all, and could we really handle one when we're already taking care of two boys? But, Belle convinced me in the end and, well, when I finally saw the little guy, it was love at first sight. You know, not like in a weird way or whatever."

Anna pats his shoulder, "Don't worry, I get it. So, where'd you buy him?"

Kristoff's face lights up and he gives his sister a knowing grin, "Actually we got him at a shelter, with help from a certain _doctor_."

"Doctor? Who…" It didn't take long for Anna to put two and two together, and she gasps, "Honeymaren helped you pick out Sven?! And she never told me?!"

He shrugs, "She said she wanted me to tell you, figured I'd bring you around to meet the little guy soon anyway."

Anna scoffs, but she doesn't stay mad for too long. Not when Sven comes barreling back towards the kitchen with Elsa close behind. The tiny shepherd's tail wags freely in the air as he laps up half of his water bowl. Anna was excited to see how excited Elsa was to meet a new friend, the husky was eyeing him patiently. Or at least, that's what it looked like before Sven trotted away from his water bowl and Elsa stayed.

"Elsa? Where'd Sven go?" Anna says playfully. The husky looked at her with those adorable, wondering eyes, and then back to the water bowl, and then back at her owner, and then finally settling on the bowl.

"They both have their shots," Kristoff says. "Should be okay for them to drink the same water."

Anna smirked, knowing that her brother knew next to nothing about animals and probably learned all this from her secret-keeping girlfriend. "Yeah, you're probably right." She bends down to scratch Elsa between the ears and adds, "Go ahead, girlie."

With permission granted, Elsa drinks her share and goes back to chasing Sven around.

Amidst the sounds of barking and scattering of paws, Anna asks, "How's the house training going?"

Kristoff hisses, "Uh...it's going. I can't believe how much pee that little guy can store in his bladder."

Ah, that was amusing to hear for Anna. She remembered the early days when it felt like Elsa was going through half of her pads in one day. It was tough finding new stains on her carpet when she wasn't careful about keeping an eye on Elsa, and gosh all those times she had to wash Elsa's bed…

Would she be a good person and empathize with her older brother? Or would she be the bratty younger sister and rub Elsa's house-training success in his face?

Of course she was going to be the bratty younger sister.

"Can't relate," she says in a sing-songy voice.

Kristoff ruffles his hand through her hair, "Oh shut up. We're gonna get a dog door installed soon so he can do his business in the backyard." And thus the karmic circle was complete, Anna got to brag about Elsa not peeing everywhere, and Kristoff got to brag about owning a house.

Soon, they had migrated to the living room as well, watching as Sven yipped at Elsa for merely existing in his personal space. Anna wouldn't say it, but she was glad that Kristoff called her here whether he had a surprise puppy or not. It had been a while since they'd caught up, and seeing the same set of people for the past couple of months was starting to get a little maddening. Except for Honeymaren, obviously.

Kristoff nudges her with his large shoulder and asked, "So what's up with you? How's everything going?"

Anna smiles and leans back to settle into the couch, "It's...I mean I don't know. It's good, I guess."

"You guess?" he asked, leaning back as well.

"No, I-I _know_ that things are good. I just mean- like, there's not much to say. I got Elsa, and then life's just been it's slow, normal self ever since."

"Well, I mean you also got a job and a cute girlfriend," Kristoff says. When Anna gives him a suspicious look, he adds quickly, "Belle said I'm allowed to call her cute."

"Yeah well I think you should have asked _me_ too," Anna pouts, "Anyway...gosh I was looking forward to telling you about stuff but there's really nothing to tell."

"Well then let's talk about what you've already told me."

"What do you mean?"

Another knowing grin stretches across her brother's face. And he asks her a mind-shattering question, "Have you told Honeymaren you love her yet?"

Anna's face heats up like a furnace, and she lets out a noise that's part uncomfortable laugh, and part high-pitched squeal. It gets the dogs' attention momentarily, and then they go back to doing dog things. "What? What?! _Why_ would you _think_ that I would say that already?"

Kristoff shrugs, "I mean this is around the same time you said you loved what's-her-face."

"Yeah, well Honeymaren isn't like what's-her-face! She's sweeter and compliments me and tells me what she wants...and she smells like vanilla."

"I did not need to know that."

"Oh whatever," Anna says with a rolling of her eyes. "But no, I haven't said it yet."

"Well...why not?"

"I…" Anna takes a second to herself to really think about this. Saying those three big words have been on her mind for a little bit now, but she kept telling herself it wasn't the right time. She sighs, and if there was any way to sink more into the couch, she definitely would have. "If something goes wrong, I don't want to take it back. I know some people can bounce back and say 'I love you' again to the next person they're with, but I'm not that kind of person. If I'm gonna say it-"

"You want to make sure that she's the one," Kristoff finishes.

Anna nods, her lips a straight line on her face. She's expecting her brother to follow up with the question of whether or not Honeymaren _is_ the one, but that's something she doesn't feel comfortable with answering right now. So, when Kristoff opens his mouth to speak, she shakes her head with urgency.

"Ah okay, well then...subject change!" He says mercifully, "Still looking for a teaching job?"

Ah yeesh, that's only slightly better than talking about her feelings for Honeymaren. Anna crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, "Ugh, yeah. Still no luck."

"Does Honeymaren know?"

"I don't like mentioning it too much," Anna responded. "I have the job that I do now because of her, and I don't want to think I'm so ungrateful that I'm already looking for something else."

"Does she know you've wanted to be a teacher since you were in the fifth grade?"

"Haha...yeah…" She even showed her the pictures her parents took of her running a summer school for her stuffed animals.

"Well guess what? I know a guy at work who has a kid, and it turns out his second-grade teacher's retiring. They've already started looking for a replacement, but I think if I put in a good word-"

"Yes," Anna interrupts.

Kristoff laughs, "You don't even know where the school is."

"I don't care. It's a yes."

"Don't you want to run it by Honeymaren first?"

"Yes, I will. I'll do everything else that I need to do _after_ this conversation, but right now- a thousand times yes- I want the job. So. _Recommend._ _ **Me.**_ " Anna's eyes are so wide, they could be staring right into Kristoff's soul. And by the end, her voice had dropped to a level of seriousness she'd only broken out twice in her life.

Kristoff, thankfully, gets the message. He put his hands up in defeat, still with an amused grin on his face, "Alright alright, I'll tell him."

Anna squeals, "Yay! You're the best!" She jumped and gave her brother a tight hug, which causes Elsa and Sven to perk up with curiosity. They raced over to the siblings, with Sven barking in order to save his owner and Elsa jumping on the couch to get her owner's attention.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am back once again to fulfill my monthly update quota wheeeeeee.

* * *

**E** lsa hops onto the couch, eyeing the couple already sitting down before focusing on Honeymaren. After a couple of seconds of not-at-all-tense silence, Elsa sits down and rests her snout on Honeymaren's lap.

"Aww you are _such_ a good girl!" the chosen woman exclaims while scratching the husky between her ears. "Just the cutest freaking thing. Ugh, I wish I could take you home with me but your owner probably won't like that. Does she lay in your lap like this too, Anna?"

"No!" Anna replies with a frown.

"Oh. Well that's okay. It probably just means she likes me more," Honeymaren jokes.

Anna almost smacks her girlfriend with a pillow before realizing there's a good chance she might hit Elsa. Instead, she just scoffs and puts on the most offended face she's able to make after years of living with Kristoff. It's successful in getting her a kiss on the forehead. From Honeymaren, not Elsa.

"Oh come on. You know that, nine times out of ten, she'll choose you over anyone else. You got her off the streets and gave her a good home, she'll be loyal to you for like forever."

It's hard to tell what warms her heart even more: the forehead kiss or Honeymaren's comment. Both of them have Anna's cheeks hurting from the wide grin she's now sporting. But, being the insecure human being that she sometimes is, she can't help her rebuttal. "I mean, I also got her spayed. And there was that one time I hit her because she bit me."

"Yeah, and you haven't done that since then. Trust me, Anna, she loves you." Honeymaren mutters something else under her breath, something that Anna doesn't comprehend.

"What was that?" she asks.

"Nothing, just some silly thing. Don't worry about it." Anna wants to ask again, in case it's something that her girlfriend might need help with, but Honeymaren's already asking her own questions, "So, what's up? What's the big surprise you wanted to tell me about it?"

Ah, there we go. Anna was wondering how long it would take for Honeymaren to ask that. Which is ridiculous since she invited her over with a text saying she had a "big surprise". What made her think she wouldn't ask?

Then again...what made her put off telling Honeymaren about this for so long?

Thanks to Kristoff's recommendation, she was able to get an interview for the second-grade teacher position at a school forty minutes away from her apartment. It was one of those charter schools built on a lot that used to hold a Wal-Mart, and now the space was being used for something more beneficial to society. The walls had murals painted on them by a local artist, and the staff all seemed so warm and welcoming. The interview went way better than the previous ones she's had- she didn't accidentally make fun of the principal's wife this time- and by the end of it she was actually feeling a little optimistic.

And then the call came last night that she had gotten the position, and Elsa kept howling at her while she danced around the living room like a crazy person. It was one of, if not _the_ best phone calls she'd ever received. It was definitely in the top five for sure.

But from the time Kristoff mentioned the job to now, she had yet to tell Honeymaren about it. Even though she said she would, it was one of those things she kept putting off- mostly because she was afraid of how she'd react. Which was even more ridiculous because her girlfriend has been nothing but kind and supportive (and a little quiet recently, now that Anna thought about it), so why _wouldn't_ she be kind and supportive about this?

Anna chalks it up to the bad experience she had with her ex. Which she's now, unfortunately, projecting onto her current relationship.

Regardless, she couldn't keep hiding this from Honeymaren. It would be cruel and unfair, and who knows what kind of damage it would do to their relationship. Knowing this didn't make it any easier, though.

"Ah r-right, the big surprise," Anna stammers. "That I said I had. That I texted you about. The surprise. The big one. That I need to tell you. Because it's big. And a surprise."

Honeymaren frowns, "Anna, why are you stalling?"

"Pss, whaaaaat? Why would I be stalling? That's-" Honeymaren gives her a look she's only seen her use on owners who won't get their pets vaccinated. "-okay fine, I'm stalling. Sorry."

The brunette shifts her legs so that she's facing her girlfriend, causing Elsa to huff and get off the couch. "Anna, you know I'll understand anything you want to tell me. But you need to, you know, _tell_ me."

She's right, and now it's a matter of how she's going to do it. Anna decides, after a deep breath, that she's going to spew it all out like word vomit. "Kristoff got me an interview at this school called _Aspire_ , and it was last week. I felt like I did fine, I mean I was a little- a _lot_ nervous but at least I didn't accidentally make fun of the principal's fishing obsession. Which happened by the way and- you know what, that's a story for another time. Anyway, I've been waiting for a response and last night I got the call and I got the job and I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner please don't break up with me!"

As expected, it takes a second for Honeymaren to register all the words that were just thrown at her. Her deep brown eyes shift around before they go wide, and she speaks, "Wait, you got the job? You're gonna be a teacher?"

Anna bites her lip and says sheepishly, "Yes? Are you mad at me?"

"Are you kidding? I'm _so_ happy for you right now, Anna. You're finally gonna be a teacher!" She leans over and hugs Anna so tight that she feels the air leave her lungs.

Instinctively, Anna reciprocates the hug even if she's still somehow nervous and feeling undeserving of this hug. "You're not upset that I'm gonna have to leave the shelter?"

Because of their embrace, she can hear Honeymaren mutter "Oh my god" in an exasperated tone.

"What?"

Honeymaren separates them and smiles with heavy amusement at her anxious girlfriend. "Did you honestly think I was expecting you to clean up cat poop for the rest of your life? I always knew the custodian position would be temporary for you, Anna. You've got too much ambition, and now you get to show that."

Anna blinks, "So...you're _not_ mad."

"You're impossible." Honeymaren rolls her eyes and leans forward again to kiss Anna. Slow and sweet, that way nothing is left to interpretation but there's that implication it could lead to more later. For now, however, she leaves Anna slightly disappointed but completely relieved. And if that's not enough she also says, "I'm not mad. I'm proud of you."

It's then that Elsa makes her presence known once again. This time, she jumps onto Anna's side of the couch and eyes her curiously, as if to ask what the commotion is about.

"You proud of me too?" Anna asks her faithful companion.

Elsa tilts her head, and Anna takes that as a yes. Or at least as an "I don't know what's going on, but I feel like if I make myself a part of this, you'll give me a treat."

* * *

Anna spends the rest of the night telling Honeymaren more about the interview and the school. The things she talks about the most, for some reason, were how much of an aesthetic the school colors (white and cyan) were, and how their eagle mascot freaks her out. But that was something she could live with.

It was also decided that they would both request a day-off this Friday to formally celebrate Anna getting the job. The next time they had a day-off at the same time was in two weeks, and Honeymaren didn't want to wait that long to commemorate an entire day for "Ms. Muenster".

Gosh, she was going to have to get used to being called that, huh? Hopefully second-graders wouldn't know that she shared the same name with cheese.

Unfortunately, the night had to end at some time. Since this was an impromptu visit, Honeymaren hadn't prepared to stay the night and she needed to head back. Which meant that "promise" of something more would have to wait. Maybe until Friday. Probably until Friday.

"Aww, I'll miss you too," Honeymaren says to Elsa when she follows them to the front door. She bends down to scratch her head and play with her ears. And she adds, "But don't worry, I'll be back soon."

"Ugh, she's gonna whine so much when you leave," Anna adds.

"Well she better. I'm a freaking delight." Honeymaren stands back up, after a few more seconds of giving Elsa attention, and places her hands on Anna's shoulders. "You're gonna miss me too, right?"

Anna places her hands on her girlfriend's hips and replies, "Of course."

They kiss one more time, neither of them wanting to be the one that breaks first. They kiss like this is the last time, as if tomorrow won't arrive and tonight is all they've got. They kiss like everything's changed for the better.

Anna's the one that causes them to part, but only because she starts to giggle.

"What is it?" Honeymaren asks.

She calms herself down first, letting the laughter subside. Afterwards, Anna shakes her head and says, "Nothing's wrong. I'm just really, _really_ happy."

"Ah. Well you have every reason to be." Honeymaren smiles at Anna like she's admiring every part of her. "But I've gotta go, babe."

"Yeah...I know," Anna sighs but perks up almost immediately, "Want me to walk you to your car?"

And then something changes in her girlfriend's expression. This has been happening a lot recently, whenever they're alone Honeymaren will get this look on her face like she's deep in thought. Nothing specific seems to trigger it, but whatever she's thinking about worries Anna. She's let it go every other time, but this time she doesn't want the night to be tainted by words left unsaid.

"What's wrong?"

Hopefully it's nothing. Hopefully Anna's just seeing things and there's nothing going on that will hurt their relationship, or Honeymaren herself. If there's any way that she can help, then Anna will gladly do it. She just wants to make sure that everything's okay. When Honeymaren doesn't answer, Anna goes to ask again.

But she's silenced before she can say anything by another kiss. This one's sudden and strong, like a crashing wave formed at the very last second hitting her right in the face. And it's quick too, it ends before Anna can completely register it even happened. Now thoroughly confused, she-

"I love you."

...she does nothing. Anna does nothing but freeze and look at the blushing woman who's just told her three of the most important words in the world.

"Anna, I love you," Honeymaren repeats. "You're the first thing I think of when I wake up, and the last thing I think of when I go to sleep. You've completely turned my life upside down and I'm so happy you did, because...because every moment with you feels so wonderful and unique. And I can't say the same for- goddamn, I can't say the same for _anyone_ else. It's just you. And I love you. And you don't have to say it back tonight, I just...I needed to. I couldn't keep it in anymore. I, uh...goodnight. I guess."

Honeymaren unlocks the door, walks down the concrete path, disappears through the gate and to her car.

Anna doesn't know when, exactly, she's able to move again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Happy one year anniversary to Frozen 2! I can't believe it's been a year, holy cannoli. It's without a doubt my favorite of the two, and one of my all-time favorite movies, and I'm so glad to have been able to see it on opening night. Anyway, I can't draw worth a damn so this is my anniversary present. 

* * *

**N** early a year old, and Elsa still hadn't grasped the concept of fetch. Anna tosses the tennis ball once again across the grass and the eager husky sprints towards it before it even touches the ground. And of course, like always, Elsa dives for the ball and chews it up instead of coming back with it.

Anna sighs and jogs towards her, hoping that no one in her apartment complex is watching this completely one-sided game of fetch from their window. She's not upset at Elsa; after all, it still looks like she's enjoying being out here with her owner if the panting and growling is any indication. Maybe she's just not a fetching kind of dog, which hurts their chances at winning any dog shows but it's whatever.

In fact, if she's upset at anyone, it's herself.

It's been a little more than a week since she told Honeymaren about the teaching job, in which Honeymaren followed that up by telling Anna she loves her. Anna still hasn't said it back. It's a relief that they're still normal around each other at work, and they even got through a lunch date together without the topic being brought up. Honeymaren's being such a great girlfriend by not mentioning it, or even saying "I love you" again. She's patient and understanding, even if their goodbyes are a little longer and more awkward now. Yesterday after clocking out, Anna gave her the classic finger guns.

Anyway, it's...they're _okay._ Anna has nothing to worry about, especially since she knows how Honeymaren feels about her. But as Anna throws the tennis ball again and Elsa goes hunting it down, she says to herself, "Why didn't I say it back?"

She's been thinking about this whole love thing for a long time, in fact ever since she visited Kristoff. When she thinks about Honeymaren, she sees sunshine and adventure, a quirky mischievous smile as she sneaks a cookie out of the break room, safety and comfort that she hasn't felt with another person before. That's definitely love, she knows for a fact that she loves Honeymaren.

But when she had the chance to say it back, she didn't take it. And now they're in that weird limbo phase of their relationship that she never wanted them to be in. She feels like there's this timer above her head, and if it ticks down before she can say "I love you", then things will be over between them.

And yeah sure, maybe this is something she should talk to Honeymaren about, but she's ashamed that it's taking so long.

Or...so short?

Maybe a week isn't that long to wait for a reply. Maybe that's standard next-level relationship stuff. Wait no, if the roles were reversed and she was waiting on Honeymaren to respond, she'd be going insane by now. Probably cradling Elsa with crazy eyes as the husky tries to squirm out of her grasp.

Elsa, speaking of, runs back to her without the ball and jumps, punching her paws into Anna's stomach. It's a behavior that Anna's used to from her, and Elsa's stopped doing it so hard after she got a stern talking to. Sometimes she does it to welcome her home, sometimes she does it for attention, and sometimes she does it because she's excited. Anna's thinking this might be a mix of two and three.

She still responds with an "Oof" because it's still a sudden punch to the gut. "You know you can just tell me to throw it again."

Elsa howls at her in response.

Anna rolls her eyes, "Alright, bossy pants." She walks towards the ball and picks it back up, Elsa sticks her tongue out and waits eagerly for her to throw it again.

She sighs, lowers the ball, and says to her puppy, "Maybe I'm just scared. I don't know, the bad experience I had with my ex is just...maybe it's getting to me."

Elsa woofs, Anna pretends that it's in agreement and she throws the ball again. The husky across the grass again. She's never been in love before, but she's always loved the idea of _being_ in love. It was fascinating, and seeing the look on Kristoff and Belle's faces (and, until recently, her parents' faces) told her that this was something she wanted for herself.

And she definitely wouldn't mind having that love with Honeymaren. So what was she so afraid of? She had the courage to ask her out in the first place, why couldn't she go for it now?

The more she thinks about it-

Elsa trots back over to her and howls again. Subconsciously, Anna walks over to the ball while her thoughts are still thinking. Where was she going with this again? Oh right.

The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes that she has no excuse to go for it. She's confident in her feelings for Honeymaren, and it's stupid that she didn't say it that night.

Well, it's time she grew a pair and do the next right thing.

It's five in the evening, Anna came back from work a few hours ago. The city noise of the surrounding streets surround her like an unconducted chorus, the sun is low to the sky and splashing the sky with a darkening hue, a nice breeze travels through the well-placed trees, and Anna's decided she's going to confess her love to her girlfriend.

She bends down and tussles the top of Elsa's head. "Come on girlie, we're going on a road trip."

* * *

It's a twenty-minute drive to Honeymaren's house, and Elsa whines the whole way through. Maybe it would have been better to have left her at the apartment, but she figures that Elsa will help soften Honeymaren up in case her feelings may have changed. She could be a wingwoman of sorts, except without wings.

And she wasn't a human woman…

Anna also needed Elsa as a confidence boost too. She'd never done something this crazy and life-changing before, and she's always felt more sure of herself with her husky around.

Elsa pawed at the window, her widened eyes taking in the unfamiliar scenery. The house is a nice, one-floor place in the middle of a suburb with a freshly-cut lawn and devoid of any quirky decorations. Anna's been here- or at least the driveway- a few times before to drop Honeymaren off after a date, but in her nervousness, she still passes by the house three times. The lights are off, but two cars are in the driveway and she already knows that her girlfriend's home based on the last text she sent.

**Honeymaren:** _Stupid paperwork. I wanna cuddle goddamn it [Crying Emoji]_

Anna takes a deep breath and looks at Elsa, her anxiety projected perfectly in the puppy's shifting blue eyes. "You can stay in the car if you don't feel like going in," Anna says. "I...that's a joke. Of course I'm not going to leave you in the car."

Elsa stares at her silently.

"Right, not the time for jokes." She looks at the front door and clears her throat. "Alright! Yup let's do this. Let's do the thing."

She hooks Elsa's leash back on and opens her door, Elsa follows her out and they make their way across the driveway. Anna wishes it was just a little bit longer, then again she also wishes she replied to Honeymaren that night instead of doing this crazy thing. They'd probably be cuddling right now. Or doing paperwork. Can you cuddle while doing paperwork?

Somehow they make it to the front door. The lights don't automatically come on, leaving her in the dark for just a little bit longer. She fights the nervousness away for the moment so that she can ring the doorbell, it's muffled two-note melody can be heard from the inside.

In a matter of seconds, the porch light comes on and illuminates her and Elsa in a blinding white glow overhead. Anna shuts her eyes tight and waits for the door to open, Elsa scurries around and sniffs everything in range.

This is it. Do or die. Go big or go home.

No interview, no awkward meeting with her bosses, no traumatizing speech in fourth grade when she farted in front of the whole class could measure up to the nerves this moment was bringing her. The lock shifts, the door opens, Anna opens her eyes, and she decides to just go for it.

"I love you too!"

Honeymaren...doesn't look amused. In fact she's glaring at her, silently, with steely eyes boring a hole into Anna's soul and making her wonder where she went wrong- with her whole life, not just tonight. Maybe it was the sudden intrusion this close to dinner time, maybe her fears were valid and she'd waited too long to say it back.

Or maybe it was because Honeymaren didn't open the door, Yelena did.

The disgruntled older woman cooks her with her fiery gaze, which may have been strengthened by Anna's misplaced confession. Her body feels a strong pull back towards the car, beckoning her to leave before she makes things even more awkward. But her mind, somehow deciding it was on a roll and wanted to continue taking point, told her to say something. Anything that would clear the air with her girlfriend's mother.

"Ya- uh, wow Yelena! What a surprise to see you here...at your own home. Of course you'd be here, you're probably surprised to see _me._ Because I'm not supposed to be here- er, I mean I never said anything. And also Elsa's with me too!"

Elsa howls a greeting.

"Yeah we're here, and you're here, and we're all here and uh...sorry for that. Th-that wasn't- I mean I wasn't supposed to say those words to you. Not that you're a wonderful woman deserving of love- because you are! You _totally_ are, but I was...I mean...is Honeymaren here?"

Anna hears a familiar giggle, and a hand appears on Yelena's shoulder. Then the rest of her girlfriend appears into view, amusement plainly on her face as she looks at her mother and says something in a language she can't understand.

Yelena replies to her in what sounds like the same language, gesturing wildly towards Anna before walking away. And then it's just them: Anna, Honeymaren, and Elsa pulling on the leash to get closer to the veterinarian.

Anna lets go of the leash to allow the husky to greet Honeymaren, who leans on her doorway while scratching between Elsa's ears. All without breaking eye contact with the successfully flustered love confessor.

"Hello there," Honeymaren says coyly.

Anna, wishing the lights would go back off to hide the redness in her cheeks, replies with, "H-hi. It's me."

Honeymaren giggles, "I can see that. You wanna go for a walk?"

Anna nods, "Yes please."

* * *

Honeymaren's neighborhood is much nicer than hers and better suited for evening walks. Which is to be expected considering she lives in an apartment complex near busy streets, and her girlfriend lives in the suburbs right outside the city.

The sky is painted in orange and dark purple streaks, and the lack of clouds make the far-off mountains much more visible. Honeymaren greets her neighbors, also taking walks, with a degree of familiarity. Elsa can't decide between keeping in pace with the two women or sniffing every inch of the sidewalk.

After recounting how the rest of their day has been and shamefully gossiping about their coworkers, Honeymaren segues back to why Anna was here in the first place.

"So...you love me too? Or do you and my mom have a thing going on that I should know about?"

Anna laughs nervously, "No, it-it's you. That was supposed to be for you. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner."

"Hey, I said you didn't have to. When I said it, I really caught you off guard and I didn't want you to say anything that you may not have meant." Honeymaren rubs the back of her neck and says a little quieter, "Er...you do mean it, right?"

Nervousness isn't a regular emotion for Honeymaren, but on the rare occasion that Anna gets to see it, it only fills her with even more admiration for the usually confident woman. Plus, it gives her the opportunity to be the confident one, which is pretty rare. She can count on one hand the number of times she's been confident in her life. And that's including the time she confidently sang the wrong lyrics to _My Heart Will Go On_ during karaoke.

Elsa sees another dog on the other side of the street and stares at it with wide eyes and perked-up ears, freezing in place. It's typical behavior of hers, the only dog she greets with barks and wrestling is Sven. This gives Anna time to really answer Honeymaren's question.

"Of course I mean it. Honeymaren I've never felt this way about anyone before. When I think about my future, usually it's just me teaching and well that's it. There's no one else in the picture. And then you came along, and it's like...I don't know, it's like why the heck didn't I meet you sooner?"

The blush on Honeymaren's cheeks fits well with her sun-glowed complexion. The other dog and their owner have long turned a corner, but the couple hasn't continued walking just yet. Elsa sits eagerly, waiting for their journey to continue. Honeymaren also looks like she's waiting eagerly, albeit for different reasons.

"I love you," Anna finally says to her face. She looks around for a second, suddenly realizing how "in public" they were. With zero privacy, her anxiousness was slowly overtaking her, but she still had enough boldness to say just a little bit more. "I love you, and it's scary but _really_ exciting and new and I-I mean seriously if you asked me what I loved about you, we'd be here for hours."

Honeymaren laughs, a little less nervous than hers but with just as much joy. And just so she knows that this moment is going to have a happy ending, Anna bites her lip and asks, "You still love me too...right?"

And with the sun at the perfect height to cast a glowing halo around her, with a stray wind nudging a strand of her undone, chestnut-colored hair, and with a smile full of admiration so unexpectedly large, Honeymaren steps forward and presses her lips against Anna's. This kiss is different, a good different, a _very_ good different. She places a hand on her cheek, Anna places a hand on her waist, and the whole world be damned this moment was theirs.

And Elsa's too, considering they never would have met if it wasn't for her.

When they part- and they aren't exactly in any rush to- Honeymaren finally responds with words, "Of course I still love you."

They walk hand in hand for just a little while longer, Elsa projecting the overwhelming feelings of joy in both their hearts with her energetic stride. It's the best they've felt in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Also, the next chapter is the last one.


	25. Chapter 25

**W** ow…

One year ago, Anna was sleeping through her alarm, running late for an interview, and not even getting to do it because there was a sour cream stain on her shirt from the depression burrito she ate the night before.

One year later, she's ditched that buggy alarm clock and wakes up in no hurry, wrapped in the arms of a beautiful woman who snores. And she starts her dream job in less than a month.

 _And_ it's Elsa's birthday.

Admittedly, Elsa's real date of birth is iffy because Anna wasn't there to see her be born. But with the help of Honeymaren and her big animal doctor brain, they estimated Elsa's age and narrowed her birthday to this month. It'd be easy to say that there was something significant about the day Anna chooses to celebrate her puppy's first full rotation around the sun, but there isn't. Today is just the only day everyone had time off, and she wanted to throw Elsa a party. No invitations, all her loved ones had to show up or else they were written out of her will.

Not really, but it's the thought that counted.

Besides, everyone she'd want to invite was going to be there regardless. Kristoff and Belle are hosting the party at their house, and Anna's bringing along Honeymaren and the birthday girl.

It's going to be an amazing day for an amazing puppy.

And as Anna wraps her girlfriend's arms tighter around her, planting kisses along her forearm, she's once again struck with the realization of how much her life has changed. She's in a stable relationship with a beautiful, smart, woman with a _really_ cute butt, she was going to be a teacher, and she finally feels like her past full of mistakes and miscommunications weren't going to haunt her anymore. She feels free, successful, alive. And it all started with one fateful encounter in an alleyway with a scared, hungry husky with dirty fur and stunning blue eyes.

How can she be so lucky?

She feels Honeymaren stir and her breathing change. Kisses trail across the skin along her back not covered by her tank top, causing a warm, tingling sensation to travel down her spine.

"Good morning," Anna says with a smile.

"Morning," Honeymaren responds lazily between kisses. "Sleep good?"

"Mmhmm." Anna giggles when she feels a kiss on the ticklish spot where the neck meets the collarbone. "I dreamt that I was snowboarding down a big hot fudge sundae."

"Sounds amazing."

As delightful as the kisses are, Anna wants to see Honeymaren so she flips over to look at the gorgeous woman's tired eyes and lazy smile. And ever since she finally said it, Anna couldn't keep herself from saying it at any given opportunity, "I love you."

Just as always, Honeymaren replies with a genuine, "I love you too."

Although they were still new to this part of their relationship, Anna feels confident about where it's going. She never needs to wonder if Honeymaren's feelings will change, or if things will go bad, because somehow her girlfriend always knows how to reassure her without having to ask. All it takes is a kiss on the cheek, a spontaneous gift, a horrible meme sent at 9:30 PM, and Anna knows she's found the one.

Anna presses her forehead against Honeymaren's. She's got her own ways of assuring her girlfriend too that she's made the right choice, mostly with her words and- as Honeymaren's put it- her whimsical spirit. Which is a nice way of saying that she's a dork.

"You mean so much to me," Anna says. "I can't believe how lucky I am."

"I'm luckier," Honeymaren says softly, suppressing the wide grin wanting to break free. "Gosh, it feels like yesterday you came to the shelter and I pronounced your name wrong."

Anna giggles, "I was such an idiot."

"Was?"

She gasps and pinches Honeymaren's cheek, "Hey!"

Honeymaren chuckles and takes Anna's hand, kissing her knuckles, "I'm not sorry."

"Mean." Of course she's not actually upset, especially when she once again succumbs to laughter after a kiss on a surprisingly ticklish spot on her wrist. "Come on, we should go check on the birthday girl."

* * *

Anna's the first to regretfully leave the bed, taking time to straighten out her tank top and fix the wedgie caused by her shorts. She hears Honeymaren whistle behind her, which leaves her blushing as she opens her bedroom door.

As if waiting there all night, Elsa sits up from her curled position by the door and howls excitedly at her owner.

"Hi, girlie!" Anna exclaims as the husky paces around in circles, letting out another howl for good measure. "How'd you sleep?"

Elsa replies by nibbling on Anna's hand as she bends down to scratch her behind the ears. It's part of their morning ritual now, gradually started by Elsa when she learned that her owner leaving her bedroom usually meant it was time for food, time for work, or time for a walk. She always gets excited either way.

Anna walks to the kitchen (with Elsa beating her there), and refills the puppy's water bowl. "We've got a big day today, Elsa. We're gonna go see Sven, and you're gonna eat a big ol' peanut butter cookie, and you're gonna get presents. It's going to be so much fun."

Whether Elsa hears this or not is unclear as her focus is drinking half of her bowl.

"And you wanna know why it's gonna be fun?" Anna scoops Elsa up in a hug that leaves her hind legs still on the floor and her eyes filled with more surprise than usual. Even if this is something she should already be used to. "Because today's your birthday!"

A couple of seconds later, Elsa squirms out of Anna's grip and howls, looking at her expectantly.

"I think we should start the day with a walk," Anna says with her hands on her hips. "Does that sound good, girlie? You wanna go for a walk?"

Elsa perks up and barks, bolting to the front door and back to the kitchen. Anna takes that as a yes, and grabs Elsa's harness and leash.

The walk around the apartment complex feels so much better today thanks to the special occasion and because Honeymaren's joining her for the first time ever. It's the first time she's ever really walked around the place, and while her girlfriend is enjoying the walk, she's not really enjoying the scenery.

"For you, I mean," Honeymaren explains. "And I guess for me too. I don't know, it just all seems a little...depressing, you know? Plus, I _really_ don't like this side of town at night."

Anna shrugs, "It was affordable, I really didn't want my parents breaking the bank when they were looking for apartments. And Elsa doesn't mind the place, she's made friends with all the squirrels here. Besides, it's not like I have the money yet to move anyplace else."

"Well, maybe not by yourself," Honeymaren says. "But if you split the rent with someone _else_ …"

"Eww, I'm not gonna live with some random person. What if they leave their socks everywhere or, you know, try to cook me in a big stew pot."

"What if that person wasn't random?"

Anna stops, which gives Elsa time to sniff around her fifth favorite patch of grass. She turns to the smiling brunette and asks, "What do you mean?"

The smile grows even wider, but it soon subsides as Honeymaren shakes her head. "We'll talk about it later. It's Elsa's birthday, I don't want to take any attention away from her."

Elsa's response is to pee on the grass.

* * *

Turns out when Honeymaren's there to give her head scratches, Elsa's a little more comfortable with car rides. They get to Kristoff and Belle's house easily and park in the driveway. As they walk towards the front door, they see balloons and colorful flags along the porch, and Anna's not ashamed to admit that it brings a tear to her eye. Maybe a couple of tears.

Anna rings the doorbell and hears Sven yipping away inside. After her brother's muffled voice tells Sven to hold on, the lock clicks and the door opens. Kristoff welcomes the trio with open arms and says, "Hey! You guys made it!"

"Of course we did," Anna replies while Elsa jumps around and tugs on the leash. "Sven called us last night and said his owner was being a butthead."

Honeymaren nudges her with a chuckle, "Oh be nice. Hi, Kristoff."

"Sup 'Maren. Now come on, get in here."

Anna unlatches the excited husky, and she and Sven greet each other by running straight to the living room. When Anna walks inside, she's greeted by more party decorations, loud music, and an amazing smell. She goes to the kitchen, the source of the smell, where Belle is pulling a freshly baked pizza out of the oven.

"Just in time!" Belle places the pizza on the counter, takes off her gloves, and gives Anna a big hug. "I missed you."

"Aww, I missed you too!" Anna replies, her scrawny arms unable to compete with the strength of Belle's mom arms. "That pizza's for me, right?"

Belle puts her at arm's length and rolls her eyes, "Not until we bake Elsa's cookies."

With Anna and Honeymaren bringing the husky to the house, everyone for the party is finally here. Kristoff's kids jump around and squeal whenever Elsa pounces at them, and Honeymaren sits with her brother and gives a free, informal checkup for Sven. It's jarring at first to see Anna's worlds collide like this, it's not the first time her brother and girlfriend have talked but the other times were through greetings shouted at Anna's phone when she was on a call with Kristoff.

This was bound to happen anyway if Honeymaren was going to be in it for the long haul, but it still leaves Anna a little bit anxious. She knows she can't do anything about it, but she hopes their first meeting is a good one.

To get her mind off that, Anna helps Belle in the kitchen. Belle was nice enough to find a dog-safe cookie recipe online and, while she didn't necessarily need help, it was nice to have Anna as company. And it's been a while since they've talked face-to-face.

"Soooo you're starting your new job soon," Belle says as she scoops a whole jar of peanut butter into a bowl. "You excited?"

"Of course!" Anna exclaims as she struggles to work the can opener. "Principal Thomas gave me the official tour and orientation yesterday, when he showed me my classroom I almost cried."

"Almost?"

"...fine, I may have cried a little when I went into the restroom."

Belle pauses her task to assist her hopeless assistant, facing the can opener the right way and clamping the grips so that metal met metal. "And Honeymaren? How's she been handling you leaving the shelter?"

"Just fine, but she says the new custodian isn't much of a singer."

"Oh that's a real bummer," Belle says. "Who doesn't like spontaneously bursting into song while they're going about their daily life?"

Anna scoffs, now effortlessly opening her can of pumpkin filling, "I know right? What a weirdo."

"Well if you ever need to find some obscure teaching book, or you've got some students interested in a little bit of Hemmingway, you know who to call." She takes the can from Anna and scoops the contents of it into the bowl with the peanut butter, and plugs her hand mixer in.

Anna places her hands on the counter and sighs, "I hope Elsa won't mind that I'll be coming home a little later from now on. I tried talking about it with her, but she didn't seem all that interested."

Belle looks like she's going to remark about the quality of conversation you can have with a dog who technically can't talk back, but decides against it. She inserts the attachments for her mixer and says instead, "Dogs can get used to change. Just give her a treat every time you come home, and I'm sure all will be forgiven."

"Yeah, and the school's a little far away. I'm hoping to find an apartment a little bit closer, but it'll take some time for me to get enough money."

"Have you talked to Honeymaren about it?"

Anna eyes her sister-in-law curiously, "What do you mean?"

Belle gives her a knowing grin, "I'm just saying-"

Her voice becomes too hard to hear from the combined sound of dogs barking, music playing, and the hand mixer blending at medium speed. Belle doesn't repeat herself when the sounds die down.

* * *

Elsa pokes her head out from underneath the table, looking expectantly at her owner while she tries to eat her slice of pizza.

Anna frowns at first and then realizes that everyone has either momentarily left the table or isn't looking at her. With frantic quickness, she peels a pepperoni off and feeds it to Elsa. The husky slithers back underneath the table, content with her prize.

"I saw that," Kristoff says, looking at his sister from the other side of the table with a cheeky grin.

Anna sticks her tongue out and replies, "You saw nothing."

Kristoff chuckles and leans back in his chair with his arms crossed, "Had a real nice conversation with 'Maren earlier."

He is, for some reason, the only person she knows that calls her girlfriend anything other than her full name. Even Anna calls Honeymaren by her full name. Or babe...mostly babe. Genuinely curious- and of course still anxious- Anna asks, "What'd you guys talk about?"

"Eh, mostly about Sven. She gave me some great tips on how to keep his fur from getting too tangly and gross. But we did talk about you guys for a little bit."

Anna gasps, "How dare you?!"

"Hey, you and Belle talk about _me_ all the time," Kristoff protests.

"Yeah but that's...whatever. You suck."

Unexpectedly, her brother puts on a straight, no-nonsense face. It's a look she's seen on very rare occasions with the last time being when he was explaining that their parents were going to go ahead with the divorce. The look doesn't necessarily mean bad news, but she knows it'll be something worth listening to.

"She loves you, Anna. Kind of a lot. I can see it in her eyes and the way she talks about you, it's the same kind of thing when I used to talk about Belle when we first started dating."

"Ah yeah," Anna leans back in her chair too, more nonchalant than her brother. "You were so whipped back then."

"And so are you," Kristoff retorts.

"I never said I wasn't. I love Honeymaren too, a lot. I'm not used to things going my way, but with her it has and I want to make sure it stays like that."

She gets no response from Kristoff other than a knowing smile.

"What?" Anna asks. And she gets an unexpected response, one that- despite his good reputation as an older brother- Kristoff has never told her before. At least not out loud.

"I'm proud of you."

It catches her off-guard, like all of a sudden she's been transported to a different dimension where everyone says their thoughts out loud instead of keeping them in like a normal person. She blinks and narrows her eyes at her brother, wondering how long it's going to take for him to break his composure and say something silly or mildly insulting. When it doesn't come, however, it catches her even more off-guard and she stumbles on her response, "Uh, th-thanks I guess- I mean yeah, thanks...bro. But why?"

"I always knew your luck would turn around," Kristoff explains. "I always knew that one way or another you were going to take your life into your own hands and succeed on your own merit. The fact that you did it this fast, though, is...well, it's inspiring. You, Anna Muenster, are a winner. And I'm proud of you."

Anna doesn't realize how much she needed to hear those words until her brother says them. To have someone tell you that you've come so far, that they're proud of you, that you're a _winner_ is overwhelming. But in a good way, in the best way. Anna's heart swells with pride, and she feels once again like she's on the verge of tears.

Elsa's head poking out from under the table again proves to be her saving grace. She taps the husky's nose with her finger and says to Kristoff with a quiet voice, "You're such a dork."

* * *

Anna steps out onto Kristoff and Belle's backyard, searching and scanning. Seconds later, she hears crunching leaves and sees movement from behind their growing peach tree. Rapid movement. What comes at her is not a ghost, or a face-eating crab, or a snake. Instead, it's a fluffy, dirty ball of white with a long tongue and piercing blue eyes. Or, you know, a puppy. A large puppy who's probably outgrown that moniker by now, but a puppy nonetheless to Anna.

"There you are!" Anna exclaims as she gets down on one knee to play with Elsa's face. The husky lets her, especially when she begins to scratch the crown of her head. It's one of her sweet spots, immobilizing Elsa as her eyes glaze over, making her putty in your hands.

"Everyone's looking for you," Anna continues. "The birthday girl's gotta eat her cake. Well, giant cookie, but it's still the same concept. And you don't even have to blow out a candle either...because you'll probably just eat it."

Elsa responds by tipping over, exposing her belly to get more scratches. Anna obliges, and the husky stretches herself out like she's flying sideways.

"I wonder what you'd wish for. Probably food, right? A whole swimming pool full of treats that you can dive into whenever you want? Or maybe a big bed? Maybe the ability to talk?" That leaves Anna thinking about one of her favorite things to think about. What would Elsa say to her if she could actually speak? She has her own list of things she'd want to talk about if Elsa ever got that gift, and so many of her own questions to ask. And at the very top of her list of questions was something she's been wanting to know for a very long time.

Does Elsa love her back?

It's been a year, which she knows is forever for a dog and to be honest it's been forever for her too. Hard to believe their crazy journey never would have started if Anna decided to run away instead of looking to see what was making all that noise in the alleyway. She likes to imagine that giving Elsa her sandwich was enough to get the puppy on her side, but...but it's hard.

It's hard not knowing what Elsa's thinking.

Regardless, Anna wouldn't trade any day she's spent with Elsa. She doesn't expect the same amount of love in return, she genuinely enjoys taking care of the husky every chance she gets. And honestly, hearing her howl and watching her run full speed down the hallway is enough on most days. But her love for Elsa always bears repeating, and she makes sure to tell Elsa that every chance she gets.

When Elsa sits back up, looking at her owner expectantly, Anna places her hands gently on either side of the husky's head and presses their foreheads together. Elsa doesn't pull away.

"I love you, Elsa, I hope you know that," she says softly. "Thank you for everything."

She kisses her puppy on the top of her fluffy head and pulls back. Before she can stand up, however, and say that it's time to go inside, Elsa licks her face for longer than usual. And she doesn't even have any ice cream on her mouth this time. Anna giggles as the husky finally pulls back, and she wipes her face with her arm. "Gee, thanks for that."

And Elsa replies.

Not with words, at least not with any human-sounding words, and nothing complex like a monologue. It's just three simple howls, two short ones and then a longer one.

I love you.

No one's around to see this happen, and the door's closed so no one can hear it. And maybe that's for the best because they might say that Anna misheard Elsa. But she knows what she hears. Not what she wants to hear, but what Elsa tells her.

Anna sniffles, and for the first time that day she allows herself to cry. Just a little bit, not enough to break down into sobs because that's probably going to get someone running out here and she really wants this moment to be just them. She leans forward and hugs Elsa tightly, smushing her face into the fur around Elsa's neck. A short time later, maybe just a few seconds, and Anna wipes her face and spits out some fur that got into her mouth.

"Blegh, thanks girlie. Now come on let's get you a cookie."

Elsa stands up and walks circles around Anna as if to tell her that she's ready to go inside now. Anna stands up and wipes the grass off her knees, looking through the sliding glass door.

Inside that house is her family. A small one, sure, but they're the ones that matter most to her in life and at the end of the day, that's all you can really ask for. Inside is her present and future, with relationships built to last and memories waiting to be created. Inside is her next chapter, one that has so many opportunities and challenges that bring her both fear and optimism.

Anna doesn't know exactly what the future holds. Maybe the teaching position doesn't work out, maybe she and Honeymaren break up along the way or maybe they get married and have twelve adopted babies that they turn into a crime-fighting organization, maybe she shaves off half of her head and dyes the rest of it pink. There are so many possibilities waiting through that door. It's crazy, exciting, scary, and wonderful.

But she knows that with Elsa by her side, she can do anything.

The loser and the stray walk through the door together, just as they'd walked out of that life-changing alleyway one year ago.

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And that's a wrap, folks. Thank you so much for coming alongside another story, another journey, with me. Personally, this is one of the more out-there concepts that I've ever worked with, it started out with this silly idea that I just couldn't get out of my head and then one night I put fingers to keyboard and slammed out the first chapter.
> 
> Like a lot of my stories, I took a lot of real-life elements as inspiration for this one. I have my own husky at home just like Elsa, except he's a dude with black and white fur and heterochromia. I love him to bits, I would literally die for him, and I based a lot of Elsa's mannerisms and growing pains off his.
> 
> Pets are seriously wonderful things, especially dogs. On the darkest days, he's been a bright spot for me just as Elsa was a bright spot for Anna. Thank you once again for reading, whether you were here on day one or just picked this up recently, I really appreciate all the love and support I get. Currently working on some new projects, got something lined up very soon, but for now it's time to close the book on Loser and the Stray.
> 
> Stay safe, y'all. Neuter your dogs. Peace.


End file.
